Snape's Student Sage revised
by Sage and Snape
Summary: Potions fiascos ensue as a Gryffindor gives SNape a piece of his mind.What occurs when Snape's past comes into his present?Why is he so bitter? Must for SNape fans. Series has over 700 reviews.
1. Coming To Hogwarts

His body slammed the cold, wet grass mercilessly. Sitting up, he growled in pain and then looked around him. Hogsmeade was dark and quiet already. _Not quite the beginning I would have liked_, he thought, attempting to right his clothes. It was of no use, however, they were fairly sopping wet. His head was pounding, his body shaking with cold and the after-effects of the attack. He cringed slightly, furrowing his brow deeply, as he attempted to stand up. After a few moments passed, he allowed himself to fall back down to the ground on his knees, huffing and muttering swears under his breath. He put his hand down to theh ground again, in preparation for his second attempt at standing, but instead he was yanked clear off the ground by the neck of his sweater.

"Couldn't manage to just take the train, could you?" 

The cold, deep voice cut right through him, before the source of the voice grabbed his upper arm and wheeled him around to face him.

He met the black eyes for a moment, before he was pushed forward towards the path to Hogwarts.

Chapter 1 

Coming to Hogwarts

The last first year student happily joined the Ravenclaw table to the cheers of her new housemates. Professor McGonagall looked at the parchment most perplexed and then looked back to Dumbledore, her eyes peering over her spectacles.

"We have one more name on our list and no one here that belongs to it," she said catching Dumbledore's attention.

At that moment Professor Snape strode in irritably, slamming the large wooden doors against the wall as he had thrust them open with such force, his black robes spreading out behind him. His eyebrows met in the middle of his face he was frowning so deeply.

"I've found him, headmaster," he announced loudly, to the entire hall.

Everyone turned to stare as a tall boy followed Snape into the hall. He definitely did not look like a first year. He was lean and tall; he had to have been the better part of five and a half feet tall, which was too tall for an eleven year old. He even did not look much like a Hogwart's student. It appeared he hadn't even changed into his robes. He wore a black woolen sweater with a high neck and rather loose khaki pants with cargo pockets adorning them. His black shoes, or rather boots, looked as if they had lost a fight with a puddle.

"Wicked, did you see his hair," bellowed Ron, elbowing Harry.

Harry raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly, not taking his eyes off the stranger.

"Hmm, looks like another Slytherin if you ask me," answered Hermione shaking her head at his appearance. "From the fact that Professor Snape had to find him, I suppose that's where he is likely to go."

She looked away from her friends for a moment and eyed the boy. _Too bad, _she thought, _he is rather cute. She frowned. There would be no way that she could say anything of the sort around Ron and Harry, one hang-up of not having close female friends. _

The newcomer quickened to catch up to Snape, who threw him a sneer over his shoulder. Ron had been talking about the boy's jet black hair which had been ladden with frosty bits of blonde on the top, Hermione noted. It certainly was a new sight for Hogwarts students who were mystified by the gel and slightly messy hairdo. 

"Didn't Snape wear a sweater like that during our last Quidditch game last year?" Harry asked, trying to surpress his smile. 

Ron snickered at Harry's joke and Hermione nodded grinning as well.

"I think he did Harry!"

 Dumbledore rose as the Professor and newcomer neared the front. His lush robes spread out around him, making him look even more impressive.

"Ahh good, good Severus you've found him," the headmaster said with a sigh of relief.

Harry wondered why the headmaster seemed relieved. It was not as if the man would be concerned if a student had decided not to come. That was not such a strange occurance. Harry concentrated even more on the situation in front of him.

The potions master turned again to deliver a well placed glare at the boy before he hissed at him, "You will speak with me before you leave." His upper lip curled into something resembling a snarl.

Looking unphased, which shocked most other students, the young boy only nodded, a strange look of confidence playing on his face. "Surely, sir."

Dumbledore smiled slightly at the young man. "Did you arrive okay? We were worried when you did not arrive with the other students."

The boy shrugged in response. "I, er, had one of my, well, _things_ sir. You know." He shifted looking, for the first time, a bit unsure. 

All around him he heard mutterings of "Things, what things" and "Bit odd, isn't he?" Snape stared at him, dark and cold as always. He shifted his weight and held his chin up a little higher.

"Ahh yes, ahh yes," the old man mumbled back ignoring the students and rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Well, no matter, you look none the worse and your delay was only slight."

Dumbledore then rapped on his cup as Snape strode to his place and sat down, "I know everyone is anxious to get to the feast, but I have some things which I would like to address about our newcomer here. As you can tell, he is too old to be a first year, and he is not a first year. He has some, well…" He paused slightly to choose the proper word, "…things… which have made it impossible for him to come here before now. He has been tutored at home and we are going to place him into the 3rd year with whichever house he is sorted into. I hope that you all will make him feel welcome."

A few whispers of "got to be Slytherin" were heard. Then Ron Weasley said, "Even Dumbledore thinks he's a bit odd, and that is saying something. Did you see the look on his face? He didn't even know what to say. The _things_ he's talking about, I mean, do you think he could be a vampire or something?" 

"Ron! Really!" Hermione said disapprovingly. 

The tall, dark-haired boy looked around, but not betraying an emotion on his face. His thin, but athletic looking frame stood steadfast to the spot. His dark eyelashes framed his intense blue eyes, which were not missing a things going on around him.

At Dumbledore's request he walked up the few steps and sat on the frumpy stool. He felt ridiculus as the sorting hat was put on his head. It felt to him as if the hat jerked around with surprise a few times before speaking to him as if in his head.

"Ahhh! Such power and pure blood. Ancient wizarding families from both Slytherin and Gryffindor. Both a Malfoy," the hat paused, "ahhhh and a Potter…but there is something more that lies dormant…"

The hat continued, "And that third part of your family, the strongest yet, no doubt had an effect on you as well. No mother or father. Hmm. But where do you belong? You give me no easy answer," the hat continued is Sage's head, "Most important is where I put you and I must be sure, Slytherin or Gryffindor. Where will your best traits endure?"

The young man looked towards McGonagall, "Professor, does this usually take this, err, long?"

"Patience, patience dear boy." She assured him.

"It should only be another moment Mr. Malfoy-Potter," Dumbledore said offering an encouraging smile.

Gasps were suddenly heard around the great hall. Draco smirked at Crabbe and Goyle, sticking his nose up in the air like always. 

"A Potter, but I thought Harry was the only Potter left. And a MALFOY?" came from the Ravenclaw table and "Malfoy and Potter," heard from the other side from the Hufflepuff table. 

The boy's icey blue eyes looked away again and stared forward. He felt like a spectacle and the whispering had not yet stopped or lulled. "Potter??? Malfoy??? Is that even possible?" he heard around him from the Gryffindor table. The hat did not seem like it wanted to continue. He sat transfixed onto the stool wondering what would happen if the hat just did not sort him. What if he had to wear it around until it did? He looked up at Professor McGonagall. He wanted very badly to let some ill-mannered retort leave his mouth, but settled on the fact that it would be obviously far from proper. Instead he growled slightly to himself, folding his arms across his chest. He did not want to invoke the wrath of Professor Snape any more than he already had.

Then the hat moved again. His eyes looked up at the brim just as it burst out, "Gryffindor!" 

Everyone certainly was whispering again. No doubt they were surprised. They had his dark haired, light skinned, blue-eyed self destined for Slytherin. After-all he just looked like one: a strong stare, piercing eyes, an aura of cold confidence surrounding him. Had there ever been a Malfoy not go to Slytherin? No one seemed to think so. Draco looked rather shocked. The hat was lifted from his head and he slowly got up looking slightly perplexed. _Gryffindor? He, in Gryffindor? _His uncle would be far from pleased; the man had thought it much more likely that he be in Slytherin or Ravenclaw.

Feeling rather insecure, but looking rather smug, he ran a hand through his short spikey hair. He was a little put off by the lack-luster Gryffindor applause and the murmurs of the crowd. When he finally reached the table the first years looked at him like he was the plague. Doubtless his appearance was a little scary to them. 

He met another glower from Snape and a smile from both Dumbledore and McGonagall before the food thankfully rescued him from stares.

As the students clammered out of the hall, he could hear a tall red-haired Gryffindor boy yell, "Gryffindors this way, follow me and do try to keep up."  He winced, the voice was the epitome of annoying. If that kid said a word to him, he was likely to lose it. The boy seemed to think himself utterly important.

He stood with his hands shoved into his pockets and leaned against the table while the last few students left and the footsteps faded away into various directions. Once they were gone, he looked up towards Professor Snape, who had told him not to leave. He offered him a slight smile, laced with undertones of conviction. Then he reflected that he had never been around this many people before. It wasn't so bad, even if they were staring, pointing, and talking about him as if he were both blind and deaf. Snape waved him over while staring at him critically. The man's thin, pale lips were drawn tightly in what was probably frustration. Again the young man walked up the stairs, but this time stopping before Snape. He felt like no less of a spectacle than he had before. Professor Snape's eyes held more potence in them than the entire student body of Hogwarts. It would be disrespectful to look away, so he didn't. He did, however, self-consciously pull his hands out of his pockets.

He looked incredibly easy for being in front of Severus Snape. Anybody, even if they did not know him well, was intimidated by him. The sight of him was enough to inspire intimidation. The man was tall, sneering, and had a glare that could make someone pass out. Well, if that someone was Neville Longbottom.

"Get rid of that hair," he ordered and as always Snape's voice commanded attention. 

The young man shrugged, but he tested the waters carefully, "You don't like it then, sir?"

Professor Snape grabbed him by the collar nearly pulling him over the table, "It's improper. I said get rid of it. Dye it, trim it, or I'll cut it off for you!"

Sage let out a huff of air as his stomach hit the edge of the table, nearly knocking dinner right out of him.

"Severus," exclaimed a plump witch to his left in admonishion. 

Snape flashed her a look that jammed her up midsentence. He was not about to ease his grip on the boy's collar. The boy might not have ended up in Slytherin, but he needed a Slytherin hand and Snape was not in the business of tolerance. The boy was talented and testy, and Snape already had it in his mind that those talents would not waste away in his least preferred house.

The boy, however, seemed fairly calm at the potion master's display, "I will change it straight away, sir."

"Good." Snape muttered releasing him from his grip, but not releasing him from his glower.

The boy stood there with a tight look on his face, definitely rivaling Snape's. He reached up to his hair with a pale hand, moved it back and forth over his head twice, and from root to tip his hair changed straight back to being ebony black. Suddenly everyone at the head table was staring at him and not at Snape, as they had been. Self-conscious, he shoved his hands back into his pocket and his face went completely blank. 

"I'm sorry," he said, "Am I not supposed to do stuff like that?"

Snape looked as if he was about to tell him off again, but Dumbledore interjected, his eyes twinkling, before Snape had the chance. "No, no quite all right, Sage. That is why you are here afterall, to learn how to use what gifts you have. What kind of a school would we be if you could not use those talents that you already possess."

Sage looked hesitantly at the tall, pale, black-haired man. He feared he was still in danger of receiving a strong lecture. They shared eye contact for a few moments before they were interrupted. It was communication enough however, for Sage to know that he ought to be more reserved.

"Brilliant!" Professor McGonagall said looking at the boy warmly. 

Snape cast her one of his poison glares as well and one back to the thin boy standing in front of him for good measure. Severus Snape was not one to treat anyone specially because of what they were, and he certainly hated it when others did so despite him. Sage might be special but he merited no special treatment, just like Prince Potter merited nothing he received either.

"Do not forget, Headmaster, these powers that he has are very advanced for him to handle and he _is dangerous," Snape put in, verbalizing his irritation, and giving Dumbledore his least severe sneer. "Which is why he could not come here before now. I am not enough convinced that he truly should be here now. Take care to remember that he is not _that_ advanced with his powers." His tone was deep, strong, and reverberating._

"Oh Severus, he is just a boy. If he doesn't use them, he will never be able to control them," Dumbledore answered in a chidding voice. 

Sage looked from one to the other as Snape tried to keep himself from looking outright ravenous. But, as always, Snape was not done with his tirade yet. 

"At the least, he should not use them haphazardly. Whatever he has learned, he has learned under a focused and controlled environment. Hogwarts is neither _focused_ nor _controlled_. We wouldn't want any of his fellow Gryffindor's to get hurt." Snape said these last words with a sour and fake sincerity.

Dumbledore looked over his half-moon spectacles as he usually did to make a point. "And, with you having taught him all that he knows, Severus, I am sure he has the sense to know when to use them and when not to use them?" The words were placed together carefully and slowly.

Snape crossed his arms and scowled loudly. With this Dumbledore looked to Sage for an answer to his question. 

Sage, quite unsure of where his loyalties should lie, looked back to Professor Snape. He was quite sure his loyalties lied with the man who had taught him, but he did not want to upset Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard alive, on his first fay at Hogwarts. Sage could not catch his mentor's glance, however, as Snape was involved in a staring contest with the headmaster. Snape let out an angry huff of air towards Dumbledore and finally also looked at Sage. 

All eyes now staring at him, Sage shifted uneasily, but still keeping his face calm and composed. Something he was well practiced at.

"Well?" Dumbledore asked him again, a smile playing on his face.

Sage put his hands in his pocket once more, "Er, Professor Snape has taught me very well, sir. I can only say that my intention is to live up to his expectations," He looked cautiously to Professor Snape and then corners of his mouth turned up slightly with satisfaction.

With this answer Dumbledore laughed heartily, his beard bouncing on his chest. Snape glared at him and looked ready to blow smoke out his nose. It seemed as if the old wizard was making fun at his teaching skills. He had not thought the boy's answer so funny. Snape had thought it quite proper for once. After having to tutor the boy for the last years at the request of the ministry, Severus knew that Sage's mouth leaned toward impropriety with some frequency.

"See Severus!" Dumbledore exclaimed once he stopped laughing, "I will have no more of you telling me he could do better. He came up with the one answer which would make both you and I happy. Sage, hmm, you quite live up to your name boy," Dumbledore chortled, "wise, intelligent, and clever. He is quite academic as well, very easy to see that you have invested much effort in teaching him, Severus."

Snape crossed his arms at once, pissed that Dumbledore had noted the irony in Sage's answer that he had not. He did not notice the compliment that the headmaster had paid him as a kind of token prize.

That night was no better for Sage. By the time he had managed to escape the professors, who had insisted upon having many words with him before he was shown where the Gryffindor dorms were, everyone else was unpacked and sitting comfortably around the common room. It was not exactly what he had wanted to see, tens of pairs of eyes watching him, when he walked in with McGonagall closely following him. 

"You are to have your own room for, well, obvious reasons," she told him while glancing around at all of her students. She was trying to discourage them from trying to evesdrop.

_Obviously_, he thought, _no one quite knows how to talk about anything pertaining to me. Everybody is going to think I'm a freak with the way all the professors talk all secretively about me. Of course, he knew the reasons why he had to have his own room. _

McGonagall continued, "You'll be to the left. You will find all of your things there already. Class schedules will be handed out tomorrow at breakfast. I believe you've picked out your extra classes, so you should be all caught up. Have a good night dear." Then she left him standing there with a room full of faces that were trying not to stare or who were staring but were trying to look like they were not. 

Ron was peering around the corner of his Chudley Cannons "Players and Statistics Through the Times" book. Harry was pretending to polish his Nimbus. Neville was poking Trevor the toad. And Seamus, of course, was trying for the millionth time to turn water into Rum. Hermione, however, walked right up to him and held out her hand. Sage, not too sure of it, took it reluctantly. It would not be right to be rude to the girl.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger. I am in third year too." 

He stared at her momentarily. She looked so young, but very sincere. Sage was not used to such an innocent look. He was not used to girls either. He released her hand hurriedly, jarred by the touch.

"Sage, uh, Malfoy-Potter," he replied hastily, but with a touch of disfamiliarity. 

Hermione looked up curiously, but obviously, to shy away from the topic of his last name. She frowned, her eyes peering at his hair, "What happened to your hair. It wasn't all black earlier tonight. It was quite, well, different."

Sage shrugged roughly, "Professor Snape didn't like it. Or my earring for that matter. He told me to get rid of the frosted hair or he would cut it all off."

He seemed very uncomfortable, she noted. His movements had seemed very fluid earlier, and now seemed rather forced and jerky.

"You dyed it that quick then?" She said confused.

Sage shifted uneasily. His heart began to beat faster, but then he forced it to calm down. He was in control and he did not have to reveal anything that he did not want to. There was no reason for her to know the answer to that question, and she also seemed to be rather pushy and nosey. Sage was not used to questions, especially ones of a more personal nature.

"Er, not exactly… I have some work to do, so I'm going to go find my room and get some of my things." With that he started walking toward the stairs on the left-hand side.

His heart started to beat softer as he walked away. He inhaled through his nose and felt his muscles relax. He was thankful to be away from conversation.

"We haven't even had classes yet. How can you have any work?" 

He turned back, his face colder and his words sharper, "Why don't you tell Professor Snape that then, when you have never had a potions class in your life and have been taught from home, he doesn't really care if it's summer or not." 

He stalked off upstairs. He wondered exactly why he had lost it a little, but he guessed it was because he was not used to 20 questions and had never been that used to other people his own age or even been around many people his own age. He had lived a very solitary life and was not used to people being overly social. People of his background were not generally conversationalists.

"You don't have to snap, you know," she called after him.

She sat down next to Ron, who put down his book, and Harry who put down his polish. They did not need to pretend that they were not paying attention anymore. Harry raised an eyebrow. This boy might be related to him? If he was, Harry was not in a hurry to find out, especially after his harsh words had smacked Hermione straight across the face. The boy had definitely declared an extreme amount of independence that Harry was not in a hurry to violate. 

"Well, we know he's got more Malfoy than Potter from that," Ron volunteered, interrupting Harry's thoughts.

Hermione shrugged, "You two should both know what it's like to have Professor Snape breathing down your back. And you'd be a little crabby after that too."

"Ohh give over Hermione, he should be in Slytherin. I mean, a Malfoy in Gryffindor? That's just crazy. A Malfoy, for Merlin's sake. He'll be cursing half of us by next week."

"The hat can't be wrong, Ron. Anyway, he is related to Harry. He cannot be as bad as Malfoy."

Harry finally joined the conversation, "I don't see how we can be related, I mean, I only have the Dursley's, I haven't heard of any other relatives. If I had wizarding relatives Dumbledore surely would have stuck me with them. He cannot be related to me. Do you really think any Potters would marry Malfoys. Maybe it's a different Potter?"

Ron chuckled, "Yeah, I'm sure there are lots of pureblood Potter's out there that aren't related to you! Come on now, Harry."

"Ron's right, Harry. You should know that there are not many shared last names in unrelated people in the wizarding world. It isn't like the muggle world. Maybe you should ask him, Harry," Hermione piped in. "He's new afterall. We shouldn't just assume what his personality is like."

"We all saw what happened after you asked him a few questions. Almost bit your head of like Snape does. That's evidence of being worthy of Slytherin to me." 

Harry laughed at Ron's statement and nodded to Hermione.

"It does not mean he is not a person, Ron. Perhaps he is not used to being around so many people."

Sage looked around his room. Four poster bed with scarlet sheets and covers. He found his trunk on the other side of the bed and a bunch of clothes beside it. He chuckled to himself about the scarlet and gold tie and the Gryffindor patch on his school robes_. Gods, Gryffindor! I bet my uncle is having a heart attack right about now. He opened the trunk and removed a few books, notebooks, and a black leather shoulder bag. Quickly, he found a very thick, very old potions book and stuffed it in the bag with some parchment and a notebook. Next, "Advanced Latin for Wizarding" was tossed into the bag. Satisfied, he picked up the bag and went downstairs to the common room to find somewhere that had a little more light. _

Nobody was at the study tables, as no one had anything to study but him. He let the bag down onto the table with a thump and took out the contents of the bag, being careful not to get ink all over the place. Gryffindors all around were staring at him. Especially the boy with the odd glasses and the red-haired kid that had made a comment on his hair that he had overheard in the Great Hall. He had a lot of work to do before tomorrow. 

He probably should not have spent so much time in Diagon Alley, and he definitely should not have gone into muggle-London afterwards. His uncle had made it quite clear that muggle territory was off-limits to him and he usually listened to his uncle, but even he got bored sometimes doing nothing but studying. 

The first time he had decided to sneak off and go into muggle London, it was not hard to meet some people and make friends. When he had come home quite inebriated and high to find his uncle staring at him the second he apparated, he had been absolutely mortified. Not to mention convinced that his uncle was going to curse him into the next century. Now, his uncle had trusted him to go to Diagon Alley by himself to gather some money and buy his school things, and he had violated that trust. He shouldn't have done it either, this time, he had ended up convulsing in a gutter because of his desire to get away for a little while. His uncle would certainly be given him a stern lecture the next time they were alone in a room together, but now that he was at Hogwarts perhaps he could avoid that for awhile.

Coming back to reality, he had a sneaking feeling that Professor Snape knew that he had transgressed by going into muggle London instead of staying in Diagon Alley. Afterall, Snape knew him well, he had tutored him since he was seven years old. While in London, he did have an attack (one of his _things_ as he had told Dumbledore), and he knew that Snape would know from the state he was in when he found him that he had been telling the truth. But, Snape always had a way of knowing all matter of things, and he had helped him figure it all out by getting his hair dyed and his ear pierced while there. Those were not common wizarding things to do, so there was a slim to none chance that he had those things done in Diagon Alley. There would be no hiding his little infraction from the potions master. In addition, confounding everything, he had not finished the work that the professor had demanded of him the week before and he would be in trouble if it was not done. 

No sooner had he opened the advanced latin book, than he felt a presence over his shoulder. He looked up. That same bushy haired girl from before. _Great, I'll have to stay up all night to get this done with her questions._

"Latin, but we don't take _that here," she said. _

Sage grimaced and bit back his tongue slightly. He needed to work, not talk, and he had never had _that problem before._

"Well, _I_ still have to study it, regardless of what they feel is compulsory here. My uncle believes that you cannot be a well educated wizard without being extremely proficient in the language," he answered, not looking up from the book.

"But who assigned that to you," she persisted as only Hermione can.

Sage stared at her with his piercing eyes, blue though they were. 

"All right, fine, I'll play the little questions game." He slammed the book shut. "Professor Snape assigned it to me. He has been tutoring me from my home since I was a child, seven to be exact, at the request of the ministry. My parents are dead. I don't have the time to go into my life history so that you'll understand. Except for potions, I'm really quite versed in all areas of magical learning. Professor Snape is no easy teacher, as I'm sure you know, he's quite demanding. If I do not have this weeks work done tomorrow, he'll give me days of torturous detention since he now has that ability over me. So, if you'll excuse me. I'm in quite a foul mood and don't mean to be, but I have three days worth of work to do and only one night to do it in." With that he opened the book and stared back down at it, picking up his quill. Then he muttered under his breath, so that only he could hear, "I have no time for silly little girls."

Hermione closed her mouth, which had opened in shock, and walked away.


	2. Potions and Professor Snape

Chapter 2

Potions and Professor Snape

The next morning Sage woke with his head on the potions book. Groggy, he raised his head and looked around. Quiet. He looked at his watch: 8:35. _Shit, I have some class at 9:30. Gods, I fell asleep and I didn't finish the potions work! I hope it's not potions at 9:30, maybe I'll have time to finish it. _He jumped up and ran up the stairs to his room. Everyone was already at breakfast. He changed into his Gryffindor robes, grabbed his wand and put it in his pocket, brushed his teeth, and ran back to grab his books. 

The Great Hall was full of students eating breakfast and talking in low, muddled voices. He hurried down the Gryffindor table and sat down. There was no one very near to him so he took out his book and started writing frantically in his notebook. He raised his eyes, he felt something…he knew before even turning what it was…damn people looking over his shoulder. Glancing behind him, his eyes rested on a pair of eyes much like his own. _Goody, cousin Draco, just what I want first thing in the morning. I'd rather have that Granger girl over me._

"G'morning Malfoy," he said looking back down, ignoring the vicious voice in his head that wanted to be uncivil.

"Cousin, what are you doing _over here?" He asked loudly and with some measure of disgust, "What would my father say, a Malfoy not in Slytherin, but in _Gryffindor_. And your uncle?" The boy paused, tisking. "You should be in Slytherin. I was hoping you'd join me there. Fairly shocked when the hat stuck you in Gryffindor… Of all places for someone of your pureblooded heritage and your __tradition." Malfoy raised his eyebrows as he spoke this last word very slowly._

"What can I do for you cousin? I'm trying to finish some things before classes start, not to be rude," he sneered at the pale boy.

Malfoy took up an important air. "Well, Professor Snape wanted me to give this to you. I think he's a bit shocked that he's not your Head of House."

Sage snatched the letter from Malfoy to shut him up faster. Malfoy had always had something to say. He was glad to not have been raised with Draco. Uncle Lucius never wanted him around, one annoying child was enough. Sage had been grateful when his other uncle took him up, no matter how reluctantly. Lucius Malfoy was an acidic person. Any household was better than the Malfoy household. Sage looked back down to his book expecting Malfoy Jr. to go away now that he had delivered his little message.

"We have potions together after lunch. Why don't you read your note. Probably has your schedule in it."

Scowling Sage popped open the familiar seal and started to read.

You will see me before our class this afternoon. I believe we have some things to discuss pertaining to where you were yesterday. I expect you at my office after your transfiguration class. I would advise you not to be late.

_-S. Snape_

Sage looked at Malfoy, who surprisingly was not reading the letter over his shoulder. _He knows, _he thought_, _thinking about Professor Snape_. Now I'm in for it._

Then he remembered that he didn't even know where Snape's office was, and the school was not the kind of place you could wander around until you found something. If he did that, he'd wander for years. Sage closed his eyes and groaned inwardly. He did not want to ask anything of Draco. It was a task for him to merely speak politely to him.

"Malfoy, I have to meet with Professor Snape before lunch. How do I get to his office?"

Draco smirked, as only a Slytherin could, "I'll take you there, after your transfiguration class. I'll come get you outside of McGonagall's room."

With that Draco sauntered off to the Slytherin table leaving Sage thinking that directions would have been better. He was not excited to spend more time around Malfoy.

The dungeons were quite dark and dank. Sage thought they were suited perfect to Professor Snape. He had walked with Draco in as near to silence as he could manage, answering the other boy with nods and shrugs and an annoyed yes or no every once and awhile. It seemed like Malfoy droned on forever about his father, and his father being powerful, and his father being close to the dark lord, and Professor Snape knowing all sorts of dark arts stuff. Sage, undoubtedly, knew more about Professor Snape's knowledge of dark arts than any other student at Hogwarts. Afterall, you spend at least two hours a day for over six years with a man, and you tend to get a good idea of what power he is capable of. Snape just radiated strong magical power, just as Dumbledore had the first time Sage had met him, very very strong. 

"That's Professor Snape's office. Probably wants to tell you he's disappointed about you not being in Slytherin. I mean, we are _all_ disappointed about that." Malfoy would have kept going but Sage cut him off.

"Thanks, I think I can open the door for myself."

Malfoy finally left. Sage stared at the door. He was anxious, yes, but this was a road he had travelled many times before. Snape just had an intimidating presense and was a rule-monger. He knocked on the door.

A gruff, "Come in," answered him.

As he closed the door behind him, he took a moment to survey the office. Bottles on shelves all over the place, filled with guts and dead animals. Sage couldn't help but find that slightly comical. Afterall, no one would want that all over their office for personal use or pleasure. It was something that would serve to intensify the intimidation factor. Just something that Professor Snape would do, and just something the students would be stupid enough to fall for. Sage had no doubt that it worked on the students. Severus Snape was a smart man, a smart man who liked to get things his way, who wanted to be feared and respected and obeyed. His thoughts were jolted suddenly as Snape glanced up from his papers momentarily to put out a commanding, "Sit down." Sage obeyed. He was slightly immune to the intimidating bottles, but even after so many years, he had never become immune to the intimidating man that was Severus Snape.

"I'm warning you now boy, not to toy with me, is that clear?" Snape said standing up and stalking to the front of his desk.

"Yes sir." Sage shifted uncomfortably, waiting for the arsenal.

"What were you doing in muggle-London all weekend? Did you apparate and leave your brain behind!" Snape yelled down into his face.

"No sir," he answered quietly, glancing downward. Knowing that at this point in time it was appropriate to look down.

Snape's eyes narrowed. "Then you just decided not to listen. How many times have you been told not to go apparating around where ever you please? How many times have you been told not to leave the house?"

"Many times," he replied deferentially.

"Do you realize that you could hurt people, muggles, without wanting to. You can barely control what powers lie within you. You could endanger our whole world. You just conveniently forget your situation whenever you fancy. You cannot go running around like some child and you will not." Snape bore down on him. Leaning into him and pointing into his face. 

Sage shrunk down in the chair as far as he could. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Must I constantly remind you of the other dangers that surround you? The dark lord would relish in finding you wandering around or paralyzed from an attack. You may not think it possible as he is not ressurected, but for two years in a row he's managed to show his face in some way or another. I should think that the thought of that would be enough to stop your childish rule-breaking. You're worse than Potter and his stupid sidekick Weasley."

Sage squirmed more and looked down. 

"Not to mention the fact that you had an attack in the middle of muggle-London and started convulsing in front of dozens of muggles. Then, you're late getting here, and I find you in a sorry condition from the attack. I'm surprised you were able to even apparate into Hogsmeade. Need I say that if you had come when you were told to, you would have had the attack here and I would have been able to help you."

"I didn't think anything would happen," he said.

"No, you just didn't think at all. This is not like you, Sage, I thought better of you. Have I taught you nothing?"

If it was possible, Sage would have simply disappeared. He did not like to see Snape so upset, especially since Snape never cooled off right away. He would be sour for weeks. Worse was that he _did know better. Sometimes it just got so lonely by himself, so depressing, and his thoughts became so morbid. He could not help but try and run from them._

"I was the one asked to teach you, because I of all people would know exactly the defenses you would need to learn. I was chosen to keep you from the Dark Lord, to teach you the dark arts so that you would be able to fight back if you had to, to keep you away from Malfoy who would love to just turn you straight over to Him. Is that what you want that you behave so carelessly? It is not just you I'm supposed to protect, it's the entire wizarding community, if you fell to Him we would all be in danger. The ministry would sooner kill you than let that happen. They already fear you, don't you understand?" Snape was spitting all over the place he was yelling so loudly. His robes were swooshing with every violent hand gesture. His face was contorting in frightening ways that Sage did not even know were possible. Finally, in a fury, Snape turned his back on him.

Sage swallowed, though his mouth was too dry. "Sir, I don't understand why they fear me."

Snape whirled around, "Surely you are not that dim-witted! They fear you because of what you are. They fear you because you are the first of your kind to be born in three hundred years. They fear you because once you have had the proper teaching, you will be capable of things that the oldest wizards are not even capable of. By the time you are twenty-five, you will likely be able to surpass the capabilities of even Dumbledore. You will be capable of things that wizards who are alive have never even seen before. They fear you and yet they need you. They fear you because if you go bad it will be worse than even the plague of Voldemort, they need you because you could be the end of Him. In time, you may be our only answer! These are all things I've told you before." Snape had turned so pale, his voice so low and growling, that Sage's knuckles had turned white as he gripped onto his chair for dear life.

"I just want to be normal," Sage answered in a whisper.

Snape grabbed him by the shoulder, "Well that's just not going to happen. Get used to it. You will always be tormented, you will likely always have these attacks, and you will suffer. That's the sickness that has always come down upon your kind. You were born of both the light and the dark. You will gain the control of your powers, and if it's possible, you may even be capable of ridding yourself of the torment of the attacks. I will not continue to teach you and help you if my words are falling on deaf ears. If you do not listen to me at all times, I will not waste my time. So, you have two choices. You can either listen to me, do as I ask, and study hard. Or, you can continue to be a child and wish away the very gifts that will save you from what you fear, and with it you will lose my tutoring and risk whatever action the ministry would take."

Snape looked at the tall, lean boy in front of him cowering in the chair. He had been a bit harsh, yes, but it was still so uncharacteristic of Sage to look so… vulnerable, so afraid, so young. Snape quickly stopped himself from those subtle feelings of guilt. What was he thinking, he would have been ten times more harsh to anyone but Sage. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but the boy was bright and strong and basically good. Snape was not used to admitting that he liked someone. Sage often got the better part of his temper despite this.

"Well?" 

Sage looked sideways to avoid Snape's penetrating glare. His blue eyes were surrounded by bulging red lines. His fists still clenched. Sage felt like a cornered animal of prey.

"It won't happen again, sir," he answered finally looking up at him.

"Is that good enough?" Snape answered expectantly.

Sage pursed his lips. "I'll focus more… and concentrate more on my work… and listen to those who are only concerned with my safety."

"Hmm, well, start by getting me the rest of that work by tonight. We'll start going through some of the last two years of potions you missed tonight after dinner. If it's not done by then, you can sit and do it until it is done." 

How did Snape just always know? How did he know that Sage did not have his work done? It had continually baffled Sage. It was like Snape had a private little eye into his life.

"I'll finish it after class before dinner."

Snape looked hard at him, "Having it done before we meet will not make me satisfied if it is below your ability. Do not rush."

Sage nodded. 

"Seeing as you tried to work your way through breakfast, I'd say lunch would be a good idea." Snape motioned him out of his chair. 

Sage stared at him, eyebrows furrowed, mouth slightly agape. He stood up and faced Snape.

"Y-you aren't going to…to punish me…for doing that?"

The potions master obligingly whapped him in the back of the head, "Don't be so stupid again."

The look on the young man's face was nothing short of what it would have been if Severus had suddenly sprouted another head. "But..."

"I expect I've given you plenty to think about. Further, I suspect that the pain of that vision you had in London was enough punishment for you, especially without the pain killers and such that I give you. I do not believe you will be doing something like that again."

Why did Professor Snape always have to be so right? His vision in London had been absolutely horrid. He had laid on the side of the street writhing for over an hour after the real pain had stopped, unable to even breath without pain. Never had any of his visions been so bad. Actually, he still had the migraine. It had been the first time in a long while that someone had not been there with him during an attack. Sage looked back up at Snape and nodded.

"I was quite shocked when you managed to gain your composure before entering the great hall."

"Me too," Sage answered truthfully. "Nerves overwhelmed the pain, sir."

"Do you want to tell me what you saw?"

Sage shrugged as they walked out of Snape's office. Snape noticed the coldness simply close over the boy. It had been bad.

 "I didn't understand it really. First, a snake and a rat, but not how you would normally, erm, think of a snake and a rat. The rat was, well, not running for fear of being eaten. It came to the snake. The snake didn't stir. Then, there was something else, something different. The air smelt of fear. There was a forest and dead animals. I felt a keen sense of dread. Like something was closing in. The last thing I saw were these red things, eyes maybe. I dunno." The boy scratched his arm and continued walking silently.

Later that day Professor Snape flew into the potions room for the first third year lesson of the year with all his usual frightening flare. The door slammed into the stone wall and he strode up to the front. He surveyed the class with his cold, black eyes, mentally seeing if anyone had thankfully not come back to school. No, Longbottom was still there. Another year of potions fiascos and hospital wing trips. 

He crossed his arms over his chest imperially, "If you think that your time here today will be filled with my expectations because it is the first day, you are sadly wrong. As you are a third year class, I do hope that you know what I expect by now. If not, you are bound to lose more points than last year. Open your books to page 89 while I write the ingredients you will need on the board." 

Most of the students stared in disbelief at having to do work on the first day. Hermione was the first one to open her book, followed by Sage, and Malfoy. 

"Well, open your books, NOW!" Snape bellowed to the students who were still gaping. Snape almost smiled when Weasley jumped a bit in his seat. After three years, Snape mused, his yell was still quite capable of making the red-haired boy startle.

"Miss Granger, you will move to the back to watch the new member of this class. I trust you can keep him from messing up too bad, because I am sure Mr. Longbottom will do that for us whether you watch him or not." Snape said this without even turning around. Had he turned around, he would have relished in Neville's flushed face. 

Hermione moved back by Sage, offering him a weak smile. The pale boy just stared at her, his eyes impassive. 

_I can't believe he thinks I'm that much of an idiot,_ Sage thought_, last thing I need is more of her questions. She will spoil my work if anything._

He looked at the pages in the book and finished reading the description of the potion they were making. His eyebrow arched up. _It doesn't sound that difficult. Cut this root this way. Shred that root and add it slowly. Gods, all you have to do is follow directions. _

He looked at the girl next to him. At least she wasn't hawking him or telling him what to do. She seemed to be lining up her ingredients for preparation.

By the time Sage was adding the last few ingredients, his potion had turned the proper crimson red color. He glanced at Hermione's. It looked the same to him. Neville, the boy Snape had always harped on, was in front of him and his potion was a funny purple shade. Sage shook his head. He had barely touched a potion in his life and his looked fine. Perhaps Professor Snape had worried too much about him not being able to keep up with the other students. They seemed all pretty thick.

"Step back from your cauldrons. I'll come around and check your work, lackluster I am sure."

Sage watched carefully as Snape walked around grading their work. There was lots of head shaking going on. Lots of Cs and not much of anything higher yet, except Malfoy's A-. Neville was the first to blatantly fail. Snape had almost yelled him into the ground. He was coming closer, but then stopped on a dime in front of a small Gryffindor boy and sneered, baring his teeth. 

"Finnegan, you have chunks in your potion. Chunks, Finnegan?" He raised an eyebrow. "Everything was supposed to be finely chopped or shredded, how do you have chunks?"

The boy shook his head that he didn't know. 

"D," Snape answered, "for not even looking at how to prepare the ingredients."

Seamus did not even think about answering back. It would likely earn him an F and a detention.

Professor Snape passed a few more students flinging mediocre grades around and making malicious comments about the Gryffindors, much to the Slytherin's delight. He came up to Hermione, looked down, "A, Miss Granger." He already had a smirk on his face before he looked at Sage's. But, once he looked down, he looked up at Sage and then looked at Hermione angrily.

"Did you just do the potion for him Miss Granger, honestly, I wouldn't expect that of you. 10-"

Hermione respectfully cut him off, "But, sir, I didn't even say one word to him. I looked at him a couple of times, but he looked like he was doing fine on his own."

The potions master turned his glare back to Sage, and looked back down at the potion. "Better than I expected," he said without looking at the boy, "10 points from Miss Granger for arguing." The Slytherins chuckled. Snape cleared his throat and they stopped. "5 points to Mr…" he cleared his throat. "…Malfoy-Potter for beginners luck." A few Slytherins let their jaws drop. 

_Did Snape just give points to a Gryffindor? Well at least it was a Malfoy Gryffindor_. Thought Draco, allowing a smirk to to slowly cover his face.


	3. Hermione Granger

Chapter 3

Hermione Granger

Sage wandered back into the Gryffindor common room around ten o'clock that night. His tutoring session with Snape had gone fairly well, rather tedious, but well. They went through how many different potions they would have to go through that year to catch him up to the rest of the third years and then he started with the swelling potion. After he successfully finished that, he worked on the rest of the work Snape had given him the last week. Thankfully, it seemed he was not as angry as he had been. 

The common room was still fairly alive. A few people had started to open their books. Hermione looked as if she had already started on their potions homework. The red-haired kid she was always with was playing wizard's chess with the kid with the glasses that he had figured out was none other than his cousin Harry Potter. Sage walked in and slumped down into a chair at one of the study tables. There weren't any cushy chairs left. He rubbed his eyes and then ran his hands through his hair. Then he crossed his arms on the table in front of him and laid his chin down on top of them.

Hermione looked up from her books. _He isn't so scary she thought. __Professor McGonagall told me to be nice to him and that he's really quite smart. He has to be if Professor Snape taught him. Snape doesn't even allow us any room for mistakes. I couldn't imagine what it would be like for him, with Snape focused completely on him. No wonder he is a little rough. And Professor McGonagall said that his parents are dead. She pursed her lips and stared at his pale, expressionless face. __Nobody really talks to him, he must be lonely._

"I just started to work on some homework if you want to join me," she said from the other side of the table and three seats down.

"Think I've had enough of potions for the day, thanks," he answered, his face screwed up in disgust.

Hermione got up and came to sit directly across from him, leaving her books on the other end of the table. Sage looked up at her, his head still propped on his arms. His eyebrow went up as she tried to push her unruly hair behind her ears. 

"Are you okay, I mean, since you got here you haven't looked too happy to be here?" She asked, fidgeting with her quill.

Sage shrugged, not moving his head. He was too tired to keep his defenses up. "Fine, really."

"You don't fool me with that, you know?" she answered in her know-it-all tone and with half a smile playing on her lips.

"Just not used to all of this."

"The classes?"

Sage managed to smirk at that. "No, I'm used to a heavy work load."

"Right, Professor Snape. What's he like outside of here?"

For once, she was asking him questions that he didn't really mind answering. He was kind of getting used to her questions. She really wasn't _that_ bad.

"He's much the same, but less, ummm, bitter? I don't really have much of a family. My parents are gone. Professor Snape was chosen to teach me and prepare me to come here. I spent a lot of time alone with books and practicing my focus. Professor Snape is one of the few people that's ever helped me, and he has known me since I was a little kid. He's harsh, but fair, not like here. I'd be in a lot of pain if it weren't for him."

He closed his eyes, it was the first time he had ever had a real conversation with someone his age, someone who was like him. Well _not_ of his kind, but _not a muggle. _

"What do you mean pain?" 

Sage finally pulled his head up. He looked at her and didn't answer. His frow stiffened, his face grew more severe. He did not want to talk about the pain.

"Sorry," she said finally.

"I don't want to talk about that. I've never really talked to anyone before."

"I'm not sure I follow." She responded shaking her head as if he were a really difficult test question. 

"I spent most of my childhood alone, like I said, with books and house elves. I, well, I'm not like all of you. That's why I couldn't come to Hogwarts for my first year. Too dangerous."

He had definitely perplexed Hermione, which was quite difficult to do. She just stared at him quizzically, not sure how to continue.

"You mean you never really talked to anyone. Didn't you ever go to school or have friends?"

Sage looked down and when he looked back up his face was blank. His expression slightly bitter, but he was trying to hide it well. "No, to all of those. I could not. The Ministry forbade the schooling, prefering to have me tutored, because of the danger I present to others."

She put her soft cheek in her hand, "That's not right, that's, well, so sad. Must have been hard and very lonely."

Sage stood up abruptly, "Look, Hermione, don't be upset. I need to go to bed. It's been a long day for me. I just, well, can't right now."

She watched him take his bag over his shoulder and walk away. He was so mysterious. Troubled about something. Spending all that time with Snape had definitely given him that frozen glare. His eyes were pretty piercing and his face could go just as expressionless. He could look so mean. But, for a second, Hermione thought she saw his eyes, just his eyes, look sad.

The rest of the week had finally gone and now it was Sunday night. He had been at Hogwarts a full seven days and still did not feel comfortable. The lack he sometimes felt inside of him was undoubtedly still present. The work he managed, even with Snape's extra demands. He relished in the fact that he could meet and exceed the man's demands.

But, Sage cursed the fact that he was so different from everyone else and that he would have to study harder and more often just to be able to manage himself, just to gain control of what he would occasionally lose. They wouldn't want him to be dangerous.

When he was just seven he had sent a fireball to the bottom of Lucius Malfoy's robes when the man had dared to grab him by his hair and pull him up in the air. He reflected, it only happened when he was angry, or scared, or, well, anytime he wasn't employing focus and control. Likely that was why Lucius didn't want him, lucky for him. Sage snorted at the meer thought. The dislike was certainly mutual. 

It was just unlucky that he was what he was and that he had to take work seriously. Well, at least long hours of book work was something he had spent years of his life doing. He found an enjoyment in some of it. These last few days though, the days since he had that half-asleep conversation with the Granger girl, he couldn't concentrate as well. _What Pain? If she only knew what it felt like. __Must have been hard. Well, not when you're shut off to hard, not if hard is all you've ever known. And now he was in an arena he had never been in. Gods, so many people, people his age. People he had to interact with or avoid altogther. People who did not have work ethic, well, maybe Granger did. Snape had told him she got good marks. Her and Malfoy and some students in Ravenclaw, and her… _Pain_ he reflected again. He shook his head at the remembrance of her words. __Pain. Pain was enough to keep him away from the muggles. Even though Snape's potion did not help that much during the attacks, just not being by yourself when it happened was help. _

_That's, well, so sad_. Sad? It would not have been the word Sage would pick. It was the word picked by someone who did not know, someone who did know would have said nothing. Since then he could not stop thinking about those words she said. Words that just got under his skin. He kept having thoughts, thoughts about the things that he had seen, about the past. They were of his father and his mother, something he did not care to think about although it was never his choice. In at least some fleeting way, his past came back to him everyday. That word sad had just set him off into morbidity once more. It made him weak, physically weak, mentally weak, the sickness was setting in him. This was the time when he could be dangerous, the time when he was prone, his focus was clouded by intrusive thought. 

He heard Snape's words in his mind_ Focus, Sage. If there's one thing you must always keep is focus. There is no control without it. Let what's inside guide you, not your thoughts. Snape was pretty brilliant, Sage figured, if only Sage could manage to do just that, let what was in him just guide him. Sounded like some romantic statement Dumbledore would make, but not the way Snape had meant it. Snape had barked that same statement at him so many times that he could say it inside his head just before Snape would say it out loud. Sage could just feel the words coming. There were many things that Snape made a habit of yelling to him or barking at him…_Grow up, boy, do not wish this away…Perhaps you are not worthy to be what you are…Surely you are not that thick…Remind me of how old you are again, because you are acting infantile…__

He never really admitted it to anyone, and only reluctantly admitted it to himself, but he was in awe of his tutor Severus Snape. It took incredible amount of resolve and bravery to turn and spy on Voldemort. Sage was fortunate enough to be one of the priveledged few who knew about that, and was also likely why he was one of few who understood why Snape was the way that he was. 

Sage sat quietly brewing his potion in class, Granger next to him again, and Longbottom in front of him. That made him a little leary… the boy who had sent more people to the hospital wing with fouled up potions was right in front of him. He had kept comparing cauldrons to make sure he was still safe, but they had not added enough ingredients to tell yet. He stirred, and stirred, and rolled his eyes. Potions was sometimes very boring. What they were doing was too simple to keep his attention. Then, it finally happened… the potion thankfully turned bright acid green. The proper color. He could feel the smugness on his face. He looked to Hermione's, the same as his. Good. Then he decided to check his safety again and looked to Longbottom. GODS it was ORANGE! Orange… that could not be good. He dragged a book out of his bag and skimmed through some pages. But Snape interrupted his reading. 

"Orange, Longbottom! Orange. Can you not read, it said only a dash of leech juice not the entire bottle!" He said showering the plump boy with spit.

Neville quivered and flushed. He looked like he was shrinking to Sage. That must have just been his knees buckling underneath him. 

"We'll just see if your potion works at the end of class, Mr. Longbottom." The Professor said threateningly as he spun around.

"Please, sir, I could help him make it work," Hermione piped in. _Bad move_, Sage thought.

Snape did not even spin back around to confront her. She was not even worth that. Instead he said, insidiously, "I don't remember asking you to show off Miss Granger, you do that _enough without being asked."_

Snape stalked off leaving Hermione near tears, her honey brown eyes looking even larger. Sage's brow furrowed as he glared after Snape. She had just been trying to help afterall. Snape had told her last week to help him, why couldn't she help Neville? He looked at the book in his hands. 

"Hey, Longbottom."

Neville look back like a deer in headlights.

"Take this and look it up and fix that damn thing you made, or we'll all lose points and be in trouble."

Neville took the book and looked at it. _"How to Right your Wronged Potion". He threw Sage his most grateful look and began working on the potion diligently again._

By the time he was done, Snape had already started to walk around the room grading their shrinking solution. So far not many people were doing horrid. In fact, almost everyone at least had a green potion. Snape stopped at Longbottom's cauldron with a look of frightening triumph. Then he looked down to see the potion acid green. He scowled, turned, and snarled. Immediately he bore down on Hermione.

"10 points from Gryffindor and a detention. I told you not to help him, Miss Granger." Snape turned his back, robes following, and began to walk away to write down the deduction. 

Sage furrowed his brow and stared at the man's retreating back and then to Hermione. Bile was rising up in his throat in anger. Was this the way Professor Snape acted at Hogwarts? It certainly was not the way Sage was used to. Snape was always harsh, but harsh and proper, and this was certainly not proper or fair. 

Professor Snape turned back around defensively the moment he heard a chair scrape against the floor behind him and the swoosh of robes moving…someone standing up behind him. 

Sage had jumped up from his seat, with a rightly cutting glare of his own. He crossed his arms and looked stoney-faced at the professor.

Snape glared back at him, his eyes on fire.

Sage narrowed his eyes, "She didn't help him. None of us did. I just gave him that damn book and told him to fix it himself!" Sage hadn't yelled but it was said in a way that no one had ever heard directed at Snape before. "She has done nothing wrong."

Snape had suddenly grabbed his own shoulder as if in pain, halfway through Sage's outburst. He growled with deadly ferocity. 

Everyone's mouth was open. Neville fainted when he saw the reaction on Snape's face. Sage's eyes got wide, even though his face was still stoney, and he backed up slightly as if his death was nearing him and he knew that there was nothing that he could do to stop it. Instantaneously he knew that he had made a bad mistake, a very bad mistake. He had no idea what had come over him.

Snape stalked up to him still holding his shoulder as if something had penetrated it.

Sage stood frozen, "I-I didn't do it. I-I uhh didn't mean to hit you, sir. It just haahappened. Don't…" Sage stammered. The small of his back was pushed against the table behind him, and he held his hands out in front of him as if that would help. 

Everyone started looking at each other. Everybody was thinking something similar to _What the hell is he talking about… **hitting**… he hadn't hit him…. But then Snape is grabbing his shoulder._ Ron was more scared than he had ever remembered being in his life, even after his mother had found out about him taking the Ford Anglia to school. 

Harry thought that this may even be worse than facing Voldemort. Snape definitely looked just as frightening at this moment. Luck couldn't save you from Professor Snape.

The irate professor grabbed Sage by the collar and tie and pulled him forward roughly. Sage's front banged against the table in front of him, nearly hitting him in a bad area. He placed his hands flat on the desk, holding himself to take some of the pressure off of his neck, but not daring to struggle.

"DETENTION, FOR TWO WEEKS! AND 20 POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!" he spat yelling. "And if you ever say anything like that to me again you'll be very sorry indeed. You'll be lucky if you even pass this class."

Everyone gasped. No one had ever, ever dared to talk back to Snape. They had feared Sage was going to get cursed into next week. In fact, their mouths were all still open when Snape turned to look at them. "GET OUT! ALL OF YOU!"

Within 30 seconds every students had run as fast as they could up the stairs and away from the dungeons. Snape still had Sage by the collar, looking as if he might just devour him. 


	4. The Wrath of Professor Snape

Chapter 4

The Wrath of Professor Snape

Snape glared into those pleading blue eyes with fury just bubbling up inside of him. _What is wrong with him_ Snape thought _He knows I would not tolerate such impropriety and disrespect. He knows the consequences for such actions._. The anger flew through Snape's hand as he held onto Sage's color with his hand balled up around the fabric and his knuckles white. _He's going to wish I had cursed him. _

He pushed the boy back and then finally let go of his collar with a huff. Sage grabbed his neck and took a deeper breath.

 Snape crossed his arms over his chest looking so imposing that Sage fought back the desire to run out of there as quickly as possible, out of the castle, past the apparation line, and apparate to somewhere. Anywhere but in front of Snape. Sage was not easily intimidated, but Snape had always intimidated him.

Snape took a decisive step towards him and gave him a backhanded slap to the face. Taken aback, Sage just stood there stunned. Snape stared piercingly at him while the boy just looked blank. Finally, Sage put his hand up to his lip and then looked at his fingers. Blood. His lip was cut. Both stood there unmoving.

When Snape finally spoke his voice was laced with venom and cut through the air like a knife. "The next time you direct something like that to me, you'll be getting something back yourself. I'll not hesitate to curse you back. You know my expectations. You know the rules."

Sage shifted, "It just happened. I didn't direct it at you. I wouldn't. I swear. I didn't mean it, what I said. And the shoulder thing, whatever it was, I didn't-."

"Well, one more accident of that kind and you'll find yourself out of here. If you cannot control your… _impulses, then you are dangerous."_

"I'm not dangerous. I didn't want to hit you, sir."

"How many times do I have to tell you, FOCUS! Don't betray your emotions. Keep control of them and of yourself and this won't happen!" Snape spat.

Sage looked down. If he hadn't gotten angry about Snape's unfairness, it probably would not have happened. He berated himself for letting his temper flair, and at the Professor of all people.

"And, Sage, if you ever talk to me like that again," he grabbed the black-haired boy by the shoulder, "Ever again. I'll not just be packing you off home. You owe me better than that. You had better not forget it."

Just then the doors flung open again and Dumbledore strode in with McGongall in tow. Snape looked up, let go of Sage's shoulder, and crossed his arms again.

"Severus!" 

"Not to worry, Albus, despite what countless students have tried to tell you, I am neither killing him, nor cursing him."

Both the other professors looked from Snape to Sage and back again. Sage's blue eyes were red with apparent terror. Snape's veins were pushed out on his forehead in anger. Apparently, they had missed most of the fireworks, because there surely had been some.

McGonagall's eyes immediately rested on the small speck of blood still present on the corner of Sage's mouth. 

Snape looked to Sage, "We'll discuss your punishment later. Now, get out of my sight."

Sage grabbed his bag silently and beat a hasty retreat off the battlefield, nodding politely to the other two professors on his way. 

Once Sage had left, the headmaster looked at the potion's master, "Now, Severus, what happened that countless students came flying out of the dungeons, up my stairs, and started screaming outside of my gargoyle as if Voldemort had sprung to life straight out of one of your cauldrons."

Snape smiled inwardly at the hysteria he had caused. Hastily he told both the headmaster and the head of Gryffindor what had happened before he angrily strode out to think of what to do to Sage.

Sage grumbled the password to the Fat Lady and stalked into the Gryffindor common room ignoring all the staring eyes. He made straight for the stairs, took them two at a time, entered the privacy of his room, and slammed the door behind him.

"What do you think Snape did?" Ron asked directed toward no one in particular. 

Everyone looked at each other. 

"I dunno, did you see the look Snape gave him!" came from Seamus. 

"Neville did, _he passed out," Ron answered. _

Everyone giggled, but Neville.

"Wish I coulda seen it," Fred said smiling, "I'll never get another chance to see someone bash Snape like that to his face!"

"Me too, Snape deserves it," George put in. "The greasy git."

"Yeah, but detention for two weeks with Snape. Gods, I'd rather wander around the forest by myself," Harry said.

Hermione was strangely quiet.

"Whaddayou think, 'Mione?"

Hermione shrugged, "I don't think he should have talked to Professor Snape like that. It's not proper."

"Ohh give over, didn't it just feel kinda, well, good to see Snape get some of his own. Especially since it was backing you up?"

"For your information, Ron, I am glad someone said something to defend me, but I don't think that it was done the right way."

"Hey," interrupted Harry, "you know what I just realized?"

"What mate."

"Nobody's even mentioned that we lost twenty points because of that."

Ron smiled, "Yeah, that's because it was well worth the the points to see Snape so angry. We'll get it back on the Quidditch pitch anyway. Against Slytherin."

"That's what I was thinking," Harry said, "Wish I had the guts to say something like that though. I could make up the points on the pitch."

"You wouldn't have to worry about Voldemort, mate," Fred said, a strange smile on his face.

"Yeah," said George, "Likely we would never find your body after you leave for that detention!"

"Snape'd do you in."

Nobody saw Sage for the rest of the night. He hadn't come to dinner, and he'd been gone before all the Gryffindor's got back. His tutoring session with Snape had been particular hell, _yes absolute fiery hell, Sage thought. Snape had decided to make him try the potion he had been instructed to make, which did something akin to making his skin feel like it was on fire. He was still rubbing his arms strangely, even after Snape graced him with the antidote after a minute or so. He took quite another tongue lashing for being so disrespectful to the Professor. Snape wouldn't forget what he had said to him anytime soon, and yes he did feel particularly horrible. _

Sage only said that because for that brief moment, Snape did not seem like Snape to him. In fact, Snape had never acted like that around him. He was just so unfair. That was what had got his anger up. Now that he had time to reflect, he felt like he had committed some grave betrayal. Nobody had really ever paid as much attention to him as Professor Snape did. Nobody had ever tried to help him. Afterall, Snape had tried to make him a potion that would take away the pain of his attacks. Sage never really had the heart to tell him that it didn't really do anything other than stop his limbs from flailing around and help him to stay as calm as he could get in such pain. Nothing had ever numbed the pain of the attacks for him and they were getting steadily worse and he felt powerless to act against them. 

_I'm such a git. I was a big a one to him as he was to Hermione!_ Sage thought as he scrubbed. _If I wasn't such an ingrateful idiot, I wouldn't be down here at 10:30 at night. He dunked the brush in the bucket again__. Why did I feel the need to stick up for that Granger girl anyway? I don't even know her, nor do I care too. I just yelled at a Professor for her because she was accused of doing something she didn't do. How very chivalrous of me. Why should I have even cared? He furiously brushed hard on this stubborn bit of something that just wouldn't go away__. Fine mess I'm in now. I'd 'ave done better to just keep my damn mouth shut. Nobody'd be angry with me, I wouldn't have detention. I had to go and say something stupid to defend someone I don't even know, only to piss off the man I already have to spend at least 2 hours a day with. He's right, I am a bloody idiot. Sage looked up around him, he was almost done. His arm hurt like a trunk had fallen on it, but he was almost done. He knew one thing… If Neville spilt anything on the potions classroom's floor after this, he would __kill him. An hour and a half of his jolly arm work would not be immediately ruined. With his luck, he would have to do it again tomorrow night if anyone messed it up. _

Snape looked through the open door and locked eyes with him. "Not done yet?" he said with incidious mock surprise. "Hurry up. I don't want to spend my whole night babysitting you." Before Sage could answer, he left again.

_Babysit. Wouldn't have to babysit if you didn't insist that my detention had to be with you everynight. I could be filing papers, or polishing trophies, or roaming the forest with Hagrid. No, that wouldn't do, not quite bad enough for me, has to be exceptionally awful. Has to be scrubbing, with no magic mind you, the potion's floor. As if it would ever stay clean of disgusting muck. _Now that Sage thought about it and was that close to it… it didn't look as if it had been cleaned in a long, long time.

By the time Sage had finished the whole floor, his fingers were rubbed raw from where he had been holding the brush. The knees of his khaki pants were soaked as were the cuffs of his sleeves. He had begun to loathe the fact that he always had to wear long sleeves. He was so unbearably hot. Once he managed to get up off the floor, his body was protesting, he dumped out the bucket and threw the brush back into it. He scratched his arm, stretched, and went to go find the potion's master.

The door to Snape's office was open and he could hear the scratching of a quill coming from inside. He knocked on the open door. Snape didn't move. He moved just inside the door anyway.

"Umm, sir, I'm done," he volunteered. The silence was uncomfortable.

"Indeed," Snape answered him scratching away at the paper. Sage stood there in the open doorway expecting Snape to continue. But, he didn't.

"Uhhh, it's after eleven, can I go now?"

"No, I do not believe it is for you to decide when you are done. Sit."

Sage closed his eyes, but then took a seat as he was asked. Snape looked up. It seemed as if he was appraising him.

"Is there something that you want to tell me," Snape asked Sage.

Sage's eyes went from left to right, completely at a loss for words. _What does he want?_ Sage asked himself. "No, sir."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah."

"Yes," Snape corrected, his lip curling slightly with distaste.

"Yes, sir, I'm sure."

Snape looked back down at his papers. Sage thought he read disapointment there, or maybe an aggravation, he wasn't sure. "Fine, Sage. I expected more of you and better of you." 

_What does that mean_, Sage thought. 

Snape continued, "I will not allow you to act the way that those _children_ do. Clearly a disappointment. Go."

Sage obligingly got up and turned to go.

"Sage…"

The boy turned back around. "Yes, sir?"

"Next time, consult your brain before opening your mouth. If you would have thought about what you were about to say in the classroom, as I am sure you are doing presently, you would not have done what you did. It is most unlike you, and I will make sure it does not happen again."

When Sage returned the Gryffindor common room was empty except for Hermione, Harry, and the red-headed Weasley boy whose first name he didn't know. 

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked with genuine concern.

Sage looked up at her, "Yeah, grand."

"Hey, uhh, that was great what you said," Ron piped in.

Sage looked at him, "Glad you think so."

"I mean Snape deserves it for how much he favors the Slytherins and picks on us."

Sage started walking toward the stairs again, "Not from me he doesn't."

"Wait, Ron's an idiot, don't go," Hermione pleaded. Ron threw her a dirty look. Harry giggled.

"I can see that," Sage answered, making Ron turn red. "Look, I just spent the last 2 hours of my night scrubbing the potions room's floor, before that 2 hours of tutoring, before that 2 hours of potions class. A grand total of 6 hours in a day with someone whom I have blatantly and horridly insulted and disrespected. So, I'm quite worn thin." Sage started walking again and finally made it up the stairs. Just as he was about to enter his room a tentative hand touched his back. 

"I'm sorry, you know," the girl said. Didn't this Hermione girl ever quit.

"Don't be."

"Ummm, thanks, though, for standing up to him for me. It wasn't really the right thing to do, but I appreciate it anyways."

Sage looked back at her, his blue eyes were cold and unconcerned. "You're right, it was not the right thing to do, for you or for anyone else." He walked into the room and closed the door behind him.


	5. Visions

Chapter 5

Visions

The last week chocked full of detention had caused him to get so far behind on his work. The only time that he had to work on it was between classes, during meals, and after he came back from detention at night. He never came back from detention with Professor Snape before eleven. Sleep deprivation was beginning to set in, and his work just became more and more difficult to complete in time. Some nights he didn't even sleep, some he feel asleep on top of his books. Being sentenced to spend from 7-9 being tutored and 9-11 in detention had left him with no time to just relax. He was so keyed up, but yet so tired that he felt that physical weakness and sickness come over him. His mind seemed to move so slow. He couldn't focus for the life of him. Now it was 3 am and he was trying to finish a potions assignment for the next morning. He wished that the next day was a Monday and he wouldn't have potions until after lunch, but no, it was a Thursday. Double potions on Thursdays starting at 9 am. 

Sage was certain his essay would make no sense and he would get a bad grade. Then, as always, Snape would make him do it again, even though he wouldn't think of changing the initial grade. Another benefit to being Sage… Torture by Snape was a daily event in his life. Sage refocused on the work in front of him_. Asphodel, what is that… a root, a plant, a bug_ he couldn't remember for the life of him. _I know it's easy, why is it so hard right now. He had a migraine. Perfect timing for that. He'd had loads of those the last few days. Or, was it just one that wouldn't go away?_

Hermione looked towards the door in potions that morning. The spot next to her was empty. Class started in a minute and Sage wasn't there. He hadn't been at breakfast either. She looked down. He was already in trouble with Snape, being late to class would be really, really bad. Snape might just kick him out of class if Sage pushed any further, at least, that was what Hermione feared. She held her breath as she looked at the door, hoping that he would walk in before Snape. She didn't like to see Snape torment anyone, and he seemed to be even more critical of Sage than the rest of Gryffindor house, Neville included. Snape would probably love to have a reason to give a Gryffindor detention for months and take away points! Sage seemed as if he might be in danger of being the unlucky recipient. Hermione had never seen Snape pounce right on a new student so fast and so ravenously. Snape usually just glared at newcomers.

The sound of footsteps made her turn around to the door. Instead of Sage, Snape flew in, carrying a thick book. Hermione cringed and snapped her gaze back forward. They would be losing more house points today. 

The Professor stalked to the front of the room and stood in front of the class. She watched as his brow furrowed. Mentally, he began to take attendance. His gaze froze on the spot next to Hermione, he shook his head slightly. His face darkened and he bore a look which was worse than any look he had ever had in reaction to Harry, Ron, or Neville, and that was saying something.

About ten minutes into the lesson, Snape was lecturing them on the safety of making a cooling potion. He paid special attention to direct most of his instructions to Neville Longbottom. The boy was a potion's menace. He was never able to complete one without causing serious harm to either equipment or classmates. Right in the middle of his speech, Sage came in looking as if he had run a marathon to get there.

"S-so-sorry I'm l-late, sir," he panted. His face was rather pale, his eyes were red, and his forehead was moist. His chest was heaving to get air. His robes hung rather lifelessly to his body, looking rather disheveled.

"Take your seaat! This class started 10 minutes ago, Mr. Malfoy-Potter. 10 poin-." Snape stopped midsentence. Everyone looked from Snape to Sage, wondering what had made the man stop midsentence and suddenly look, concerned?

Sage grabbed a table with one hand for support, his other hand went to his forehead slowly. His hand was visibly trembling. He let out some barely audible noise. His face screwed up and contorted.

"Un-." He took in a painful gasp of air.

Snape jumped agily forward towards the dark-haired boy, nearly knocking two Slytherins out of their seats. Sage leaned forward towards the table, trying not to fall over, the sweat suddenly dripping from his hairline. He let out another low moan and began to fall sideways, losing his grip on the table, his eyes rolling back in his head. 

"Un-cle," his voice moaned in a whisper. 

Sage's body collapsed lifelessly beneath him. His eyes wrenched shut.

Professor Snape caught his shoulders before he went down completely and slammed his head against the stone floor. He lowered the boy to the floor, face up, and kneeled down with him. Snape heard the surprised whispers going around the class. A multitude of different ones. 

"He finally cursed a student!"

"Uncle! Is that what he said? Snape's his uncle?"

"A Malfoy, a Potter, and a SNAPE!"

"What's going on?" said Neville, of course.

"Would he curse his own nephew?"

"It can't be."

Snape looked up for a moment, "GET OUT OF HERE, ALL OF YOU!" The immature comments were not something that he could easily stand normally, but he was in no mood for it at this moment. He looked back down at Sage.

Sage sucked air in as if he were having an asthma attack. His mind slipped. The bones in his body splintered, a burning went through his nose and down into his lungs. He knew what would come soon. Vaguely he felt Snape grab him and slip his arm under his own to keep him from escaping the professor's hold, so that he couldn't hurt himself further. He thanked God he wasn't alone again like he had been in London. That was his last thought before his muscles were pierced all over by what seemed like thousands, millions of pointy, thick needles. The splintered bones began to stick into and through his muscles and insides like daggers. Seemingly hitting each nerve, mercilessly. He clenched his hand around the hand on his chest. His body started jerking, he kicked his legs. His body tried to move from side to side, but it was restricted. He couldn't see. His skin was boiling, sounds were screeching in his ears. In the distance of his mind, he felt the liquid go down his throat. The convulsions left, but the pain stayed with him. Then it happened.

A black blob blurred before his eyes, contrasting against a background of grey and beige walls. Whisps of smoke. A big black thing was running through the school, clouded by smoke. The scene blurred and changed quickly. A green rat was laying on some red or purple sheets. There was a sound of fabric being slashed. Students were screaming, running. Flash. The school changed to the woods, but not familiar woods. The dead animals were around again and the same snake he had seen before. Only this time there was a stout old man, a man carrying a bundle in black. A baby perhaps. Fog set in around him. Coldness. Emptyness. Then the red orbs floating again. Yelling, screaming. A woman, like torture. Flash. The rat again, just the green rat, scurrying. Then a great heap of yellow streaked past. Flash. His father writhing on the floor of their old house. His mother screaming, his cries piercing. The flash of green light. Cackling.         

Then it left. The attack worsened. The burning and boiling on his skin itched. Slices were being cut into him. His limbs were being pulled and twisted. He heard a voice, talking to him, saying his name. His body felt steamed. Razors were cutting down his throat and into his lungs as he tried to gasp for air. The voice again, soft, calm. Something scraped down his burns on his skin. He clenched his hand tighter around the other hand. His eyes were swelling and then burning. He was sure his hands were aflame. The needles continued to ransack his body and seemed to be getting bigger and wider. The voice said his name again. He strained. There were more words. He focused on the voice. Then another voice. Voices.

Severus felt Sage grab his hand and hold onto it like he would fall off a cliff without it. He held onto the boy as the convulsions lessened with the administration of the potion. Soon, the tremors turned into quaking, then into quivering and twitching. The boy had his teeth clenched and his eyes squeezed shut. Every once and awhile a low painful groan would come from him. He looked down at Sage with pain filling his own body. Severus had likely felt something similar to what the boy went through a few times himself, thanks to the Dark Lord. But never for such a long time. He looked down at the head that was rested up against him, its face contorted with pain. All his anger had faded, everything that had disappointed him about Sage disappated. As he always did when Sage had the attacks, Severus started talking to him. Telling him it would be over soon. That he was strong. Saying that he would be fine. He told him to focus on the sound of his voice. He felt Sage's forehead, it was burning up. There was sweat all over his face. Snape knew his own face was soaked as well.

Suddenly Dumbledore came flying in with a Miss Hermione Granger and a Professor McGonagall right behind him. The two women stopped on a dime and stared in complete horror at the sight. Minerva grabbing a desk, suddenly feeling wobbly.

"Severus, is it-." The headmaster asked, approaching slowly. 

"Yes," the man replied.

"Gods, you were right, it does look like the Cruciatus. How long has it been?" Dumbledore asked, his hand touching Severus's shoulder, paternally.

"Not sure, almost ten minutes?" The dark man, answered, looking like a different man than either woman was used to.

"Does this always happen? And for this long?" McGonagall finally said in a whisper.

"Yes to the first, and no to the second." His eyes did not leave Sage.

Hermione stepped forward with tears in her eyes, "Professor, is he going to be okay?"

"Yes, Miss Granger, I'm sure he will. Now, please, all of you, be quiet."

Snape wiped the sweat off the boy's forehead with his free hand. Then he put his arm back around him. Again he started to talk to him, his deep voice sounding smooth instead of sharp. Hermione was in shock. She had never seen Snape act this way. It was so weirdly protective. McGonagall shared her view and was gaping just the same. Dumbledore sat down and wiped his own forehead with his sleeve.

"Sage, listen to my voice. It's almost over. Focus on my voice," Snape said.

Sage felt the slicing begin to end. The needles were still there, as was the burning. He kept hearing the voice. He focused in on it harder. The slicing subsided. He opened his eyes. They wouldn't focus yet. He saw something black. 

"Sage, can you hear me?"

Sage squinted his eyes, "Uncle?" he whispered.

"Yes, are you okay?"

Sage looked up wincing, "C-cold."

Snape made a move for his wand in his pocket so he could conjure a blanket, but he stopped mid-move when he heard Sage groan. The boy's hand clamped down on his harder. He figured he had at least one damaged finger.

"Donmove, d-donmove," the voice pleaded urgently.

Snape put his arm back on Sage and stayed still. "Does it still hurt?"

"C-cc-course," Sage stammered with what might have been anger.

Severus frowned, he should know better than to think that the pain just left right away. If it was like the cruciatus, or was the cruciatus, the pain would take a long time to subside, and the headache even longer.

Sage just laid there half on the ground, struggling to breathe through the pain. His uncle's movement had caused a new wave of burning and piercing to go through his body. He felt a keen desire to just scream, but he kept it to himself. Screaming was weak. Snape's hand squeezed his shoulder. Vaguely he remembered calling him uncle before he fell over. _Well, I fell short on that expectation. So much for our relation being a secret. At least I don't have do go around being Mr. Malfoy-Potter anymore. He stopped his train of thought immediately, not wanting to dwell on his parents who had passed down the lineage of those two families to him, as well his surname. Their death was a pain he vigilantly avoided. He looked up at his uncle. The man was pale, his forehead wet. Sage closed his eyes. Why did it have to hurt so much? Why did this have to happen to him? His arm itched, he moved to scratch it, but didn't move an inch before he stopped. The pain to move was just too much, the itching was better. He was freezing, but he knew he was still sweating. Nausea came over him. He was used to the after-effects of the attacks by now. He would feel sick, feel like he was an ice cube, and then have a migraine for the next day or so. _

Severus let out a sigh of relief, at least the worst part was over. Now all he had to do was stay with his nephew until they could move him. It could be awhile. He couldn't imagine the attack Sage had in London, had it been this bad? He felt the pressure on his hand let up a little, thankfully. He squeezed the boy's shoulder. He felt sick inside. Seeing that happen to someone so young, someone so undeserving, and someone he, well, shared blood with. It wasn't a good feeling. It was a similar feeling to the feeling he had twelve years ago and again eleven years ago, when something horrible had happened to someone he cared about. He had been powerless to stop it. He hadn't even know or suspected, his own brother, killed. Then Lily. It wasn't supposed to happen. He had been assured that it wasn't supposed to happen. But he should have known she wouldn't just let Voldemort kill her only son. Lily was simply not that kind of a woman. Now, he felt the same way about Sage, fairly powerless. This time, he was sure, he wasn't going to let anything bad happen to his nephew as he had to his brother and his only love. That's why he worked so hard with the boy, that's why he demanded so much. Severus only knew how badly Voldemort would want to get a hold of Sage, because of _what he was. Thirteen years prior what he was had saved him from the Dark Lord's death wrath. Both sides would want Sage when he was of age._

 He could feel Sage's temperature going down from the boy's hand and the head that rested against him. His thoughts slowed down and he looked down again. Sage was looking at him. The boy was breathing easier, the pain must be lessening.

"I'm s-sorry, Uncle," he said.

Severus arched his brow. _What is he talking about. Sorry about letting it slip that we are related? _Sorry for having an attack?_ That just seemed stupid. "For what?"_

"Fu-for what I s-said, last week."

Snape stared down at the face, quiet. _The boy is in excruciating pain and he is thinking about what he said to me last week. He must be delirious. "Don't think about that."_

Sage put his hand on his uncle's other arm, the one that was on his shoulder. "No, it w-was wro-ong. With-without you I'd b-be a-lone." His grip was furiously strong for someone who had just been through what he had.

"I'm not angry anymore. Just think next time."

"A-and, I-I'm sorry I hit y-you. I'm sorry you ha-have to d-deal with this."

Severus wiped the boy's forehead off again. "It's all right, you're my blood. Now just rest and be quiet." Severus couldn't handle this, it was just too frighteningly unselfish on Sage's part. The little concern he had for himself when he was in pain was enough to tap away at Snape's emotional barrier. A barrier he had put up to protect himself, a barrier that was part an act because of his being a, quote, Death Eater. Sage closed his eyes, now Severus didn't have to look at them weak and bloodshot. Snape looked up now, sure that Sage was close to either passing out or falling asleep. Dumbledore was still sitting down watching them. McGonagall was holding on to a table for support, and Miss Granger was standing behind the headmaster, her eyes red and watery.

"He'll be all right. We just won't be able to move him right away," he said to reassure the onlookers, so that they would not ask him questions.

Dumbledore stood up and walked over to them. He kneeled down too and put his hand onto Sage's forehead. His eyes met with Severus'.

"His body can hardly support what is inside of him. His power is so advanced, it makes his body sick. And these visions, Severus, what are they? The future?"

Severus looked down at Sage and then up again. He remembered the time that Sage had told him about the worst of his visions. Sometimes Sage saw what had happened when his father was tortured and murdered. His mother's screams, his cries as a baby. Severus had only seen Sage cry two or three times since he met him when the boy was seven. Once when he told Severus about what had happened when his father was killed, and once when he thought that he wasn't going to have anywhere to live. As absurd as it was, when Severus' mother had died, Sage was afraid that Severus wouldn't want him and would leave him, he had been ten at the time. He had cried because everyone that ever cared for him died. Severus, of course, had become his legal guardian as he was the boy's Godfather to begin with.

"Severus?" Dumbledore said to get his attention again.

"Sorry?"

"The visions, what are they?"

"Everything, Headmaster. Far as I can tell…Past, present, and future. This was the worst I've ever seen him. They are getting stronger." Severus wiped his own forehead once again.

Hermione took a tentative step forward. "Sir, what do you mean it makes his body sick? Could it really hurt him, umm, permanently?"

Dumbledore turned to look at her. For once, Dumbledore wasn't really sure what he should say to her. "Miss Granger, the way things usually work is that the magical ability grows with the wizard, and usually every wizard only has a certain capacity for the magic. Once the wizard has reached this, the powers will not grow any longer. Sage is very different from this. The way he was born, the powers that are inside of him are tremendous. Indeed, I believe they are getting even stronger. His powers are stronger than his body is able to handle. To answer your question. Nobody really knows."

Hermione looked to Professor Snape. Her eyes asked him the same question.

"He's never sustained any lasting injury Miss Granger. His kind has never been hurt by their magical powers. But, the headmaster is right, there have not been many like him so we do not know for sure."

"What do you mean his _kind and _like him_? Why do you talk about him like he's a _thing_ and not a person?"_

Professor McGonagall finally stepped forward, interjecting. "I think that is enough questions Miss Granger. Thank you for getting us and telling us what was going on, but I believe these are questions that are up to Sage to answer. When he wants to and if he is ready."

Sage opened his eyes to near complete darkness. There was only one candle lit in the room and no windows. He was in a bed, but it wasn't his bed and he was pretty sure it wasn't the hospital wing. Was he home? A distinct piece of him wanted to be. He was alone most of the time at home, and alone was familiar and comfortable. 

His brain felt like it was being smashed as he moved his head. He still felt cold. His eyes drifted around the room. Big bed. Dark grey and a dark shade of burgundy he could see on the sheets and blanket surrounding him. It frightened him slightly, in his feverish stupor, that he didn't know where he was. He couldn't really move either. It must not be too long after his attack, he was still in pain. 

"Professor?" he called out as loudly as he could, which ended up being similar to his normal speaking voice. A few moments later, there was movement and the door creaked open. He could not make out who it was, his uncle maybe.

"Uncle?" he said tentatively.

"You have never been blacked out this long after."

Sage tried to sit up a little, but then realized that he couldn't. He just laid there waiting for his uncle to come closer. A few more candles lit up. It hurt his eyes, but he could see a bit better.

"Where a-am I?"

Snape sat down in a chair that had been placed next to the bed.

"My rooms. We couldn't bring you up to the hospital wing, because Poppy is pretty, for a lack of a better word, nosey. We decided that it would be better if I just looked after you."

"She can't see the…" He drifted off, not comfortable in saying it.

"No Sage, like I said, that's one thing that must stay secret. We must keep it between the four of us." Snape leaned forward and felt Sage's forehead again. It was still hot. The temperature had gone down, but it was not gone. He reached into his robes and took out two small bottles and placed them on the table next to the bed.

"If you need them, the blue is the sleeping, and the red is for your migraine. You know how to take them."

Sage nodded. He'd been taking those potions since he had first met Snape. 

"How l-long was I out, sir?"

Snape looked at his watch. "About five hours. That is a long time to be passed out. How do you feel?"

"A'right I ga-uess. I can't re-ally move. I feel a little pr-prickly all over and sssome burning on my arms. My ha-head feels like it wants to pop, and I'm still cold."

Severus nodded. The feeling was exactly like the cruciatus curse and it looked like it when he was having the attacks too. Snape had always wondered how that could be, but there were mysteries about Sage that even he did not really understand.

Sage saw a slight look of pain flash across his uncle's face. "W-what is it, uncle?"

The question startled Snape, although Sage could not tell. "Nothing," he replied.

"Uncle…. Is this g-going to kill me one d-day? These powers."

Snape looked back up into Sage's eyes and leaned closer to him, "Why do you ask that?"

Sage shrugged slightly and then winced. It hurt even when he moved so slightly. "Well, wa-when I'm having the, uhh, at-tacks. I feel like I wa-want to die. That I'd ra-rather die."

"I know." Severus answered looking Sage in his deep blue eyes.

Sage's eyebrows went up. Snape knew he was asking him how he knew. They had never discussed this before.

"The Cruciatus Curse, Sage, was very commonly used by," he paused as an unreadable emotion flitted across his face, "Voldemort. I have been under it before, many times. Its symptoms and effects are similar to or identical to what happens to you when you have visions. I know how you feel like you want to die. It should not happen to you. I would not have… I _am _sorry I cannot do anything."

Sage took a deep, rather pained, breath. "When I h-had the one in L-London, I ra-realized something. Ju-just having sa-someone there ha-helps me get through the pa-pain. I hear ya-your voice and wha-when I con-concentrate on it, I tha-think it brings me out fa-faster. Fa-focus like you al-always tell me."

Snape felt something weird come over him. Was it relief? No, not exactly, but something similar. It made him feel good but it wasn't relief. Relief was a component, but not really what he was feeling. He had felt it before, he was sure. A long time ago. He did know one thing. He could sympathize with his nephew. He too had not had a very good childhood, he had lost a father early, and he had spent a lot of time alone. His schoolmates had been as afraid and tentative about him as they were about Sage. He had felt annoyed at people bothering him and asking him questions because he just had never been around that before. In fact, those things still bothered him. Someone had once broke him of all those less desireable qualities, and for a brief time he had been happy, but that had started to wane even before she was gone. Severus did not want Sage to be burdened by the things he had been burdened by, but that was already difficult to remedy. Sage was already sarcastic, cynical, bookish, and had a very Snape temper. Severus even saw Sage mimic some of his more potent glares, stares, smirks, and sneers. Hell, if it weren't for the big blue eyes, Sage would even look just like a Snape. As it was they had many similar features but Sage's were softer and somewhat like his mother's. He didn't look like he had much Potter in him, but then again his father did always look much more like a Snape than a Potter. Sage's father looked nothing like his annoying, younger half-brother, James. Sage and Severus had the same pale skin and the same black hair. They had eyebrows that were perfect for sneers and long eyelashes. Sage had a similar nose with no hook, kind of a hybrid between Snape's and Malfoy's. Both had high cheekbones and chiseled jawlines. Sage's black hair was definitely nicer and sleeker, although Severus couldn't be too sure it was that different from his because Sage had never had long hair.

Sage stared at his uncle, who was apparently deep in thought. Most people would have read Severus as expressionless, but Sage could see a very vague hint of sadness in his eyes. He also noticed him staring at his face. He's been acting a bit odd lately Sage thought. He looks a bit worn, and he's had some sort of a pensive look all week. 

The soft, dark blankets were covering his head when he woke up. Sage wished his own bed was this comfortable. He moved around, no pain. Well, no relative pain, still chilly, and a headache. So far as Sage was concerned this was feeling good. He sat up with ease and noticed a pile at the end of the bed. Clothes. Sage looked under the covers. White T-shirt and his black boxers. Probably the same that he had been wearing under his robes the day of the attack. He pushed the covers back and got out of the bed into the chill of the dungeon. At least it wasn't as cold there as it was in the potions classroom. Sage put up the palm of his hand and the unlit candles in the room lit up so that he could see what he was doing. His uncle had taught him how to perform some of the more useful spells without wand or incantation. He had learned this one during his first lesson with Snape, when he was just seven years old. Well, he learned how to do it without speaking the incantation a little after that. First things first, you know.

Sage found the bathroom with ease and started up a hot, hot shower. The water warmed him up as much as it could, but he still felt a little cold. When he was dried up, he looked through the clothes that were sitting by the bed. He shook his head, the Professor knew him fairly well. He pulled on some dark grey fleece lounge pants, a long sleeved black shirt, and some black socks. 

When he peered out the door from the bedroom, he did not see his uncle. The fire was lit and burning strong. He figured that it was more for his benefit than Snape's. Even the fire in the living room made it warmer all over. There was a small kitchen near the living room and Sage went about making some tea. When he went to sit down by the fire, he was startled. Snape was laying on the couch fast asleep. Sage had never seen him sleep before. _Well, I suppose it's pretty stupid for me to think he never sleeps._ He set the tea kettle down on the table in front of the couch and put his own cup on the table in front of the black leather armchair on the right of the couch. 

Severus woke to find Sage sitting cross-legged in the armchair next to him with a overly large book propped open on his lap and a tea-cup in his right hand. Snape sat up.

Sage looked at him a bit startled, "I'm sorry, do you mind, I mean, I should have asked first," he said lifting the book up a bit.

Snape raised an eyebrow, still looking a bit groggy, "No, that's the one thing I do not mind you doing. Which is it?"

Sage raised the spine of the book so Severus could see. _Lost Spells, Charms, and Curses_. Snape remembered the book quiet well. Full of useful things that not many people knew about or remembered. "You should know many of those. Those that you do not, I'm sure you could figure out on your own."

Sage nodded, "I like the narratives about them, useful. Cup of tea?"

Before Snape answered, Sage caught a cup and saucer that had come flying through the air at them. Snape blinked twice, in aggravation.

"However, I do mind things flying across my chambers at me first thing in the morning without an incantation to warn me not to move my head. Lest I be-."

Suddenly, a spoon cracked Severus in the back of the head and fell onto the couch. "Hit," he finished.

"Sorry, sir, I didn't summon the spoon. It just came along."

The potions master did something out of the ordinary for him and didn't yell about the spoon hitting him. He poured out his own tea and performed his own warming spell on it before his over-eager nephew could try and do anything else for him. Severus cursed the fact that the Pomfrey couldn't watch over the boy, but Albus had been right, she couldn't know some things about his nephew. Now he had a crick in his neck from the couch and a bump on the head from a spoon hitting him at break-neck speed all because Sage had to stay with him. Well, at least he was used to having to put up with him and take care of him during and after those damned attacks.

"Focus, and the spoon wouldn't come along," he said finally, without too much malice. 

"I did."

"Not good enough, apparently."

"Sorry, sir."

Snape brushed it off. Even though Sage was pretty much the only person who offered him apologies, he still wasn't used to them. "How are you feeling?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Better. I'm ready to get back to classes I think. I just have a headache," Sage said, scratching his arm.

A slight smile formed around one corner of Snape's lips. "Well, you'll have to wait until Monday. It's Saturday morning."

"I slept that long! I had the attack on Thursday morning."

Severus huffed with aggravation. "In case you don't remember. The attack you had was really serious. Worst yet. You had red marks all over you. Don't take it so lightly."

Sage sat back in surprise a bit. "I know, uncle, but it's over now."

"Is it?" Snape returned angrily.

Sage closed the book on his lap and rested his elbows on it. Snape could tell that the boy didn't have any idea what he had been insinuating.

"It isn't over. It won't ever be over. They are going to get worse. Don't you understand? You had to sleep so long because your body can't take it!"

"I wish it would just go away," Sage said softly.

"How many times have I told you. There will come a time when you will be happy to have them, happy to be what you are. Quit wishing it all away, it's childish."

Sage sat motionless. His head was pounding. Why did Snape have to yell? It made his head feel like it was going to pop open and spew puss all over. 

They just sat there staring at each other. Severus with aggravation, Sage with a pounding head. It was a minute before Sage blinked and finally looked down.

"I've told you many times before. They may be so painful now because you are young. True sight is very strong magic, too strong for a fourteen year old wizard-."

"Then why are they getting worse the older I get?" Sage interrupted him.

"Don't interrupt me and perhaps I will tell you!"

"Sorry sir, I'll listen."

Snape growled. "I think that they will continue to get worse for a time as you grow older and start to learn about your powers. Now is the time where what is inside of you will start to come out because you are learning to use it. It will seem to grow stronger, but what is really growing stronger is your awareness of it. When your body is stronger and your focus is stronger, I expect you will be able to control more aspects of your sight and other powers. Perhaps the pain, perhaps not."

"Do you thinks so? I mean, that I could make the pain go away myself, while still having the visions?"

"Not for sure, but with what we know about how magical powers work, it makes sense. Sage, any young wizard that performs too much or too advanced magic for their age suffers from many of the things you do only to a lesser extent: sickness and fatigue are common. Only difference is that you don't have a choice. Those powers that are supposed to come on gradually, are already in you full force. Dumbledore agrees that with time, you will outgrow it too."

Sage sat quietly for a few minutes trying to take in and understand what he had just been told. "What happens if I can't catch up to my powers, you know, physically and mentally. If I can't focus enough to control the visions?"

It was now Severus' turn to sit quietly. He stared blankly at Sage. What should he tell him, the truth? Did he even know the truth? He could tell him what he suspected, but that was a little much for the boy.

"We cannot be sure," he said finally.

"I have a right to know, sir. I know you have to have some idea. If I have to live this, then I need to know. Maybe it will help me." 

Normally Snape would have gotten angry at being questioned that way, but the boy did have a point. They were expecting him to just be an adult, but they weren't treating him like much of one. Severus would have wanted to know, if he were Sage. He would have been frustrated too. He had to deal with pain that no adult should ever have to go through, the least he could do was tell him the truth. Even if the truth hurt. 

"Already, the attacks are dangerous to you, you know that-."

"Uncle, please…" Sage said, knowing that Snape was just dragging it out. Sugar-coating it. It was insulting.

Severus stood up resolutely and looked down at his nephew. Standing up made it easier. Made it seem like Sage was just another one of those undeserving, snot-nosed kids. Sage stared at him with those damn Malfoy eyes, those damn soft blue eyes. Finally, he spoke.

"You will die, horribly. In pain."

Sage's face was blank as ever. It hadn't changed. Then he just opened the book back up on his lay and said, "Thank you."

Severus looked at him for a minute reading the book, noticing the very strong front the boy was trying quite successfully to put up, and then stalked out of his rooms. He went to take his mind off of things, off of Sage. So, he went to his classroom and started brewing that damn potion for the werewolf.

Snape slowly began chopping ingredients for the Wolfsbane potion. He couldn't rid his thoughts of Jace, Sage's father, being tortured before finally being killed. Or Lily being killed with those big green eyes pleading. Or of Sage under the pain of the attacks. As the images appeared in his mind, his chopping became furious before he suddenly stopped The handle of the blade was cold in his hands. His hands were stark white and looked ghastly and unreal next to the darkness of the handle. He stared at the flesh with his dark eyes, before slamming the knife down on the table and scowling. What was wrong with him, this wasn't like him? Normally he could keep all of these things in check. The boy must be having some effect on him. Seeing Sage reminded him of his own half-brother, Jace, which reminded him of death. 

_Death_. Death reminded him of so many different times, so many difficult times. Death that he caused, death that he witnessed, and death that he lamented. Death reminded him of Lily. Perfect, sweet, smart Lily Evans. His would-have-been savior if he hadn't been a stubborn prat of a boy. 

Lily and Jace. Two people that Severus should have paid more attention to. Two people that Severus never had a chance to tell - . He shook his head. It didn't matter, they were gone. Not that he had even known then. It took one death to bring him back to reality and another death for him to fully understand that he could never be forgiven for what he had done. Everything in his life bore the mark of the consequences of his youthful idiocy. 

He shook his head. The more pain Sage was in, the more it reminded Severus of his own buried pain. The images made him angry, bitter, impatient, and intempered. His other hand was gripped tightly around a bottle. Finally he just threw it across the room and blue shards of glass scattered around the floor, some coming back so far as his feet he had thrown it so hard. Good thing there were no students around for him to torment. He might have thrown them against the wall as well.

For someone who was used to being in control, he felt horridly no control. He had just told his nephew that he could die, which was true, but also that he, Severus Snape, could do nothing to prevent it. Well, he was teaching him, but ultimately it would be the boy that had to make the leaps and bounds. The first step was getting Sage to accept his powers and that was difficult enough. Sage used them, yes, to the best of his ability, but he truly had no idea what the possibilities were. The powers were merely an amusement to him, while everyone else saw them either as a danger or as a rare and unmatchable gift. Sage needed to push himself beyond what Severus was able to teach him. From what they knew about his kind, the power inside of him should drive him towards where he needed to be. Severus suspected that the one thing Sage was afraid of was himself and his own power, well, maybe he was also afraid of Severus, but that had nothing to do with the boy's power.

Perhaps he had inspired the boy to new levels with his prediction of imminent death if Sage could not prove worthy enough for his powers. Perhaps he would cultivate some clarity of mind now. But then again that was fairly absurd. He was just a child and Severus had probably frightened him, but this was Sage, he wasn't exactly the type to scare easy. Severus looked up and reflected, he wasn't much of a child either. 

Severus was sure that Sage had _learned_ about consequences and not just experienced them. Childish impulsivity was something that was not in Sage's repertoire of knowledge.


	6. The Snape Family Lineage

Chapter 6

The Snape Family Lineage

Sage managed to make it back to Gryffindor that night laden with much headache potion and dreamless sleep potion in his pockets. Apparently, his uncle had gone on a mad brewing fit all afternoon and well into the evening. Sage had not seen him all day, nor had he been concerned about it either. His uncle was in the habit of disappearing like that for hours on end, especially at those sorts of times. The man had managed to hand him the bottles when he returned, bark at him that he was fine now, and tell him to take the book with him back to his own room. Sage wondered what had caused the change in temper in his uncle, but in the end he just settled on the notion that it was Snape's nature. Distancing. Really, it was his nature as well. The second the words were out of his uncle's mouth, he had been uncomfortable sitting there with the man. The emotional tension was so tight, it could have snapped on its own. His own instincts had made him want to be far away. He had no other idea but to shut himself up like Snape would and try to shut out the thoughts as well. Fortunately, his uncle had done the job for him and left.

When Sage walked into the common room, everyone blatantly stared at him. He glared back at them, especially the red-headed twins, and headed straight for the stairs to his room. He suddenly wasn't feeling too well. Although that shouldn't be surprising considering he hadn't walked so far since he had the attack. It was a long way from the dungeons to the tower. Now that he was not occupied in the book, thoughts flew freely into his mind. Thoughts he really did not care to have. _You will die, horribly. In pain. He remembered terrible images from one of his visions. The visions of his father's death. Sage finished his uncle's statement for him… __You will die, horribly. In Pain. Like your father did. He sat down on the bed as his mind took him back to those haunting images. _

_The house doors blown open, a figure clad in hooded black, his mother screaming in fear, his father aghast. His mother had known what was coming, he knew his father had too. He knew that his father, like many Snapes, had suffered from prophetic dreams. His mother pleaded. "He is my husband, please don't do this." The figure continued to advance on them. He heard his own cries as a baby coming from a room nearby. The figure spoke, "He is a Potter." His mother grabbed the figure's arms as if she knew who it was, as if she was safe and his father was not. "He is a Snape! Surely you would not kill a Snape. His father, his half-brother, have all been loyal." The figure shook off her hands. "Precisely, my dear, he is a Snape who has made it clear he has no desire to serve. He is a Snape with the tainted blood of a Potter." She tried in vain one last time. "He had nothing to do with anything that filth of a Potter did, half-brother or not, he had nothing to do with it." The figure raised his wand and the word resounded through Sage's head. CRUCIO. His mother was safe, she was a Malfoy. But his father, a man who had been standing tall and proud, knowing that there was nothing he could do, was writhing on the ground. The gasping for breath, the near silent moaning, the redness of his face, the contortion of his features, drove his mother to her knees in horror. Again and again and again the curse was cast on his father, for being suspect, for being a pureblooded Slytherin who had not joined the Dark Lord, for reasons Sage did not understand. Then, after an hour of what Sage knew to be pure hell, his father's life ended with two words. Sage knew, from first hand experience, that his father's last breath in this world was drawn in the most excruciating pain imaginable, or unimaginable for those who had never felt it. Death was a coveted prize at that point, after one minute the average person was wishing for death. After an hour of torture, death had to be the only thought. _

Sage closed his eyes and let the images fade before they could get even worse. What happened after that, he had only spoken of once, to his uncle. He had only been a year and a half old and for what had been done to him there was no forgiveness. Those were images he fought back from his consciousness only to wonder if he would die in the same pain as his father. He grabbed the bottle on his dresser and took a quick slug from it so that he could escape his thoughts and fall into dreamless sleep.

Sage had managed to stay locked up in his room the entire rest of the weekend, which was really just all day on Sunday. He had gone through the book he had gotten from Snape and had jotted down notes on the more useful spells and curses that he did not yet know. That had passed the time quite enjoyably for him. 

Being alone was something that he always found silent comfort in and after what had happened the last few days, he did not want any interaction with other students. He didn't want to hear about how he was Snape's nephew and how he must be a big greasy git just like Snape merely because they were related. He did not want people to stare. He did not want people to ask him about the attacks. He did not want Hermione Granger to ask him, well, anything. The girl really was nosy. Or just annoying. He merely wanted to be left alone, a shadow. He did not want to think about his life when people tried to ask him questions. He did not want to feel like he was on display. All he wanted was to exist without any relative annoyance. He did not want to "betray his emotions" as his uncle would say. He did not want others to know he was angry, or worried, or empty. Some parts of him also did not want to bottle those and take them out on others like Snape did. You could tell when Snape was in a foul mood, he had a temper with a hairline trigger. Unfortunately, Sage had a very similar temper, but did not want to direct it towards anyone. He was happy with just bottling his anger and frustration and all his feelings for that matter and not ever releasing them. Unlike Snape, Sage could not release all of his aggression on other students anyway, even if he did want to. Snape could do that because he was a professor. Sage had to live with these people. Although, he was not so sure he could keep himself in control with what had occurred since Thursday.

Transfiguration class had gone by easily enough on Monday, just because he had been the last person into the room, sat in the back, and was the first person to leave. Nobody had a chance to ask him questions. They stared a bit and whispered to each other. No doubt about how mean he must be because he is a Snape. He did catch a funny glance from that bushy-haired Granger girl, and he wasn't sure what that was for. He certainly wasn't going to waste his time analyzing it. 

Potions was also going as well. That was simply because nobody really dared to talk in any of Snape's classes. Also, nobody could harrass him about being a Snape in front of Professor Snape…that would have been a death wish. It also seemed as if some students were starting to be afraid of him just because he was a Snape. He found that both annoying, that people would judge so ridiculously, and beneficial, people pretty much left him alone. 

It was not until the middle of class when their potions had to sit and simmer for about fifteen minutes, that things started to go awry. Since nobody was meticulously chopping and adding ingredients, they had nothing to do other than to talk amongst themselves. Sage started to catch snippets of conversations and began to notice how many glances were heading his direction. He sat with his arms across his chest in silent annoyance. 

"Draco, did you know that he was Professor Snape's nephew?" Pansy asked.

Draco, in all his Malfoy glory, puffed out his chest. "Of course I knew. He's my cousin afterall. Professor Snape asked me to keep it a secret. You know, he didn't want just anyone knowing that Sage is his nephew. My father told me a long time ago."

Sage rolled his eyes as he overheard this. Malfoy was turning his miniscule knowledge about Sage's life into something to brag about. That kid could turn anything into something to brag about.

"I can't believe he's a Snape. I can't believe he's related to you somehow, Harry. I mean, does this mean you're related to Snape too, because I just don't think I could handle that," the Weasley kid said.

"Ron! Of course I'm not related to that greasy git. I mean, he hates me. He can't be related to me. I mean it's Snape."

Harry must have said the last two sentences a little too loud, because Snape perked his head up a little bit and had a sudden interest in the classroom banter. 

"Do you know what happened last week. He hasn't been in classes or the hospital wing. Do you think it has something to do with Dark Arts that he was falling around on the floor like that?"

"I dunno, but you know Snape and Dark Arts. I mean he's a Snape, right? Probably is just the same. Snape might have even done it to him. I saw him convulsing or something. Maybe he cursed his own nephew, looked like a cruciatus to me. Death Eater probably do those things to their own relatives."

"ENOUGH!" Snape's voice came booming through the classroom.

Everybody stared up front instantaneously as Snape stood up in front of the class with his eyes piercing every face within a few seconds. 

"Since you are all acting like the idiotic children that you are, even some of you from my own house, we will now deal with this issue once and for all. After this, we will hear no more of it. Understood?"

Everybody nodded silently and mechanically.

"As you all heard last Thursday, Sage is my nephew. So, as you have all brilliantly deduced he is not a Mr. Malfoy-Potter, but he bears my surname as his father was my half-brother. Although the rest of his lineage is nothing of your concern, since you will whisper incessantly making up stories, he truly is also related to Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter. The next person to say one word in speculation of the truth will have a weeks detention, do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Everybody nodded once again.

"Now, twenty points from Gryffindor for saying that I cursed a student, once Thursday and once today." 

The Slytherins chuckled.

 "And since all of you should also know better," he said looking at his own charges, "I am taking ten points from my own house for not having more sense than the Gryffindor's." Mouths dropped open. Sage slid down in his chair. "What happened on Thursday is the product of Mr. Snape's sight, he has visions, and I do not mean the kind that Trelawney has. True sight always has a painful effect on the wizard and as he is so young, has a horrible effect on him. That is why he fell over. And if anyone has any notions that I am going to show any favoritism towards him or any leniency because he is my nephew, you will soon find out that you are very wrong. The fact is, I expect more and better from him than I do from you, because he is much more capable than you dolts, so if anything he is going to enjoy my disfavor in the classroom." Snape looked pointedly at Sage, "That said, you will be staying after class to discuss some seven days of detention that you owe me."

Sage suddenly had visions of disembowling frogs again and separating eyeballs from the sockets of dead animals. Not to mention scrubbing the floors of the damned classroom again. 

Sage sat slumped in his chair with a blank expression on his face as the rest of the students clamored out of the classroom. He really was not all too shocked that he would have to serve out the rest of the detention he had earned with his stupidity. Attack or no attack, he knew that Snape would want to make a point that he could not be talked to that way, even by his own nephew.

A few minutes after everyone had left, Snape finally decided to stalk over to him and look down at him. 

"I am not letting you out of detention just because you had an attack," he said matter of factly. All manner of concern had vanished.

"Didn't expect so, sir," Sage answered, looking forward.

The potion's master put his hands down on the table in front of Sage and stared right at his face. "Now that you are recovered, I fully expect that you will be here after dinner so we can resume your tutoring. I won't have you digressing. My expectations for you are great, and you have not yet been meeting them here. Which is why you can get your seven more days of detention that you earned. I will not have you acting like an improper, disrespectful Gryffindor dolt."

Sage was used to this kind of treatment. Some days Snape would be concerned, some days he would be tolerable, and some days he would be outright cold. Sometimes he seemed like an uncle, but most of the time he did not.

"Certainly," Sage answered with a slight bitterness in his voice.

Snape, of course, picked up on it but decided to let it go. He wouldn't coddle his nephew, but he certainly wouldn't jump down his throat for that little bitterness. Even Severus Snape was reasonable. He wanted students to fear and loathe him, so that they wouldn't give him any problems, he just wanted to toughen up Sage and make sure that he respected him. Sage had only crossed that border a few times and knew that any disrespect earned him a swift and usually extremely harsh punishment. 


	7. The History of the Magi

Chapter 7

The History of the Magi

Sage looked uncomfortably at the gargoyle outside of the headmaster's office on Tuesday morning. During breakfast he had found a letter waiting for him. He opened it and reread the password quite amazed that Dumbledore would have such a password.

            "Sour gummi worms," he mumbled not knowing what sour gummi worms were. He had a good idea that they were some sort of candy.

            The gargoyle moved over to reveal the moving stairs. He hopped onto them and then knocked on the door in front of him. A voice from inside invited him in and as he stepped inside the door, he was met by the smiling face of Albus Dumbledore.

            "Good morning, sir."

            "Indeed, good morning Sage. Come, sit down."

            Sage reluctantly sat himself down in front of the huge desk. 

            "Lemon drop," the headmaster asked him with twinkling eyes.

            Sage wondered what the headmaster was about, because the man was just too odd sometimes. He raised an eyebrow slightly at the candies held out to him.

            "No thank you, sir."

            The headmaster stared at him with a smile budding on his face. The man always seemed to have a happy glow. 

            "How are you feeling, Sage?"

            The boy leaned back into the chair, "I'm fine, sir. Really, everybody needn't ask me that."

            "I was not talking about just the vision. I've noticed that you do not look too happy here. Professor McGonagall tells me that you rarely talk to anyone. That is not a good way to start your school career here."

            "I am doing well in my classes, sir. I am surely not having any difficulties," Sage furrowed his brow deeply as he said this. Surely the headmaster did not think that he was not well enough prepared.

"I have no doubt that you are doing excellently in your classes, Sage. Your uncle values academics very highly. It is your adjustment that I am more worried about."

 Sage just stared blankly, blinking his eyes once and awhile. Dumbledore smiled, Sage was fast becoming just as impenetrable as his uncle. The boy's father had always been rather secretive as well. The headmaster continued to stare at him pleasantly.

            "What is on your mind, Sage?" The headmaster stared more, smiling, twinkling, waiting.

            Sage stared some more before finally sighing and running his hand through his hair. Not even Severus could win a staring contest with the headmaster. Dumbledore smiled and was secretly chuckling on the inside _Oh yes, oh yes he is a Snape after all_ he thought.

            "I just don't really think that I belong here, sir. I'm so different and I don't know what I'm doing half of the time with all these people. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I'm just not… I'm just not like them."

            "Why ever would you say that?"

            "Well, I'm a… and they're not… and I'm the only one… and no one knows anything about me, it, what I am. And no one can, well…give me any answers… because no one knows, really… since there haven't been many like me…There's, so much I can't say…" he stammered. Suddenly he just stopped and flushed as much as his pale skin would let him.

            Dumbledore smiled in encouragement_. It's like pulling teeth to get anything ressembling an emotion from a Snape! He thought. "Go on, I'm listening."_

            "And… I want to just be left alone, sir. I keep getting so frustrated, and sometimes it is very difficult not to, well, let my temper get the better of me. I hate it when everyone talks about me and everyone keeps…asking me questions…because I'm Professor Snape's nephew and everyone hates him. And he's so…_bitter_ here…and sometimes it makes me angry when he is like that…and that nobody…respects him…even though they don't know about anything…or know me…or Uncle Severus.…And there's so many of them and I'm not used to it. It's never quiet…and I keep having these thoughts that I, erm, don't want. I…can't focus…and if I don't….you know…focus…it'll…kill me."

            "Well, that's quite a bit on your mind. No wonder you can't focus young man. Who could?"

            Sage glared at him with an eyebrow up in question.

            "And what do you think is going to kill you?"

            "Well, the visions. They're getting worse and Professor Snape said that if I don't get more control they could kill me."

            "I think that your uncle should also have reminded you that none of your kind has ever been killed by the sheer magnitude of their powers. While, I am sure, you will have a great many trials, perhaps even with death, I do not believe that your sight will kill you dear boy. So I would not think to much on that and forget that we must live one day at a time. The future is nothing to worry about now. And what is it that you cannot say that you wish to say?"

            "Well, so far no one has asked me about my mother and father really. But, I wouldn't know what to say… if they ask me."

            "Ahh, that is easy. The truth, I believe, always works in such situations."

            Sage squirmed around a bit in his seat, "But I can't say…about…what happened to me…after my father…died…when Voldemort… because only the four of us know about that."

            "Do not forget to breathe Sage, we can't do without it."

            Sage suddenly looked embarrassed and quickly gathered his composure.

            Dumbledore continued, "I don't see any need for you to get into any of that. But, what happened, you can still talk about what happened to your father, without talking about that."

            "I suppose so, sir."

            "As for your uncle…it is unfortunate that he must portray so much constant hate, but it is regrettably necessary for his position. I know that he is generally rather private and stoic and short-tempered, but even for me, it is difficult for me to see him like that too, with so much hate. Even though his real personality is rather well, black, I can see how you would be disturbed by the way he acts here. I myself much prefer him over the summer."

            "He's been acting so differently. Irritable I suppose. I can't blame him either, sir. I'm feeling it too."

            Dumbledore smiled warmly again. "I suspect that having you around is having an effect on him, Sage. After all, he has never been around you or anyone else so much. Having you in this part of his life now must be difficult for him. You may not know this or believe it, but you are perhaps the only one, or one of few, that he cares about anymore. Being reminded of that everyday, must be unusual for him. He shows so little of himself and allows himself so little."

            Sage nodded, knowing that the headmaster was right. Sage had been feeling a similar way himself. He had become acutely aware of the fact that he was very dependent upon his uncle and that the man was very important to him, and Sage wasn't used to being confronted with those feelings either. He usually just tried to bury them.

            "As for all of the other students and feeling so different. If you got to know some of them maybe you would feel more comfortable here. Even your uncle had friends at school, Sage. Perhaps if you were to show some of the things that you can do, it would break the ice for you a little bit. I have no doubt that many of the Gryffindor's would be thrilled to see some of your powers. That might lessen the blow that you are Professor Snape's nephew."

            Sage shifted and leaned to the left side of the chair. "I guess, but, what do I do. I really haven't shown many people anything, ever. Just my uncle and the other professors."

            "At situation will present itself, I'm sure."

            Somehow, Sage just knew that there was something behind what the headmaster had said. It was as if Dumbledore knew a little secret that Sage didn't know.

            The old wizard got up saying, "As for your other concerns, I've been meaning to give you something."

            Sage watched him like a hawk as he walked to a table to his right and opened a cabinet. When the headmaster turned around he was carrying a large leather case with worn leather straps. A small cloud of dust followed from the case.

            "I cannot tell you what it is that I give to you, Sage, only that it was left here for the day when the next would come. It was left here for the next of your kind 250 years ago when the last died. As nobody can read this or even open it, who is not like you, I cannot tell you what is inside. I only hope that it may help."

            Dumbledore stared into those blue eyes and tried to read them. He knew that he had helped the young man, but could tell no more. Snapes, they're the hardest to read he thought. Sage stood up and accepted the package from the headmaster. He looked down at it and noticed the message written or rather stamped onto the case. It confirmed the fact that no one in existence, other than Sage, could read its contents.

            "Thank you, sir."

Sage settled down into a cushy lounge chair in his room and stared at the case the headmaster had given to him. The moment he had touched it, he had felt something. He felt its power all throughout his body. As if whatever was contained within was the product of such a strong magical force that even though it was inanimate, it still retained a mark of the power of those who had compiled it. The case even seemed to have its own warmth in Sage's grasp and its own radiance. 

            He leaned over the case, which was on the table in front of him, and put his hands on the latches. It snapped open with ease. He opened the top. Immediately the smell of aged parchment met his nose. He pulled out a very old ancient looking scroll and opened it. The writing was nearly pictographic and Sage couldn't read it. He stared at it in aggravation. Suddenly, the writing turned into English. Sage's eyebrows jumped up in surprise.

            It _read The First Fall into Darkness_ and detailed the reign of Amun Ra. _An Egyptian God! Sage thought. _What does this have to do with me._ He read on. Apparently Ra had brought on suffering to the people, plagues and sickness and death. The sky had rained sulfur and all those not loyal had burned to their deaths. This scroll was telling him that Ra was some kind of evil wizard, like a Voldemort from thousands of years prior…only much much worse. He put the scroll down and picked out another old looking scroll from the box._

_            Latin. Hmm. I should be able to figure this out…. _It too suddenly turned into English and the words popped out at Sage. 

_The Prophecies of the Great Sage and Magi, Merlin_

Sage had an acute feeling of isolation except for a select few people who would talk to him, or try to talk to him. It had not gotten much better since his visit to the headmaster. Everyone seemed to still be in shock that he was Snape's nephew. Sage didn't think they should really be that surprised, he would have thought some people would have already been suspicious of it. Afterall, he had a distinct resemblence to the potions professor. 

Classes were okay. Except for potions on Monday when his uncle had reminded him of some seven days of detention he still had, while also managing to go on a barage about Sage being his nephew. Hermione was sure to give him all the homework assignments he had missed near the exact moment that he set foot into the common room on Sunday night. One thing he was glad for was that none of the professors were asking him to have anything done by a certain date. He still had a headache he couldn't shake. 

After breakfast on Wednesday, his third day back, he headed towards his Transfiguration class. Hermione had hustled after him with Ron and Harry in tow. Sage rolled his eyes when he heard them coming up behind him.

"I wonder what we are doing in class today," she said, "Professor McGonagall said that we were going to learn something more advanced today and maybe get to try it. What do you think it could be?"

Ron shrugged, "I'm just glad I have a new wand this year."

"Maybe it'll be something more practical, that we'll actually use."

Hermione looked at Harry, "Everything we learn is practical, Harry."

Sage was glad when they finally entered the classroom. He lagged behind a little bit so that he could sit in the back, by himself. Hermione sat with a red-haired Hufflepuff girl near him, and Ron and Harry were in front of them. Sage sat back in his chair, relaxing. Even with a headache 3rd year Transfiguration was more than easy for him. He'd been doing a lot of the stuff since he was barely four feet tall. His uncle had started him with a lot of that because wizards like him were supposedly exceptionally good at transfiguration. Sage could do some transfiguration he didn't care to tell anyone about. His uncle had only figured out that Sage could apparate when he had snuck off to London for the first time.

Professor McGonagall came in looking extraordinarily chipper. It was not really like her. She seemed to be up to something and quite pleased with herself.

"Okay class, today we are going to do something that is not in your books, so you can please put those away."

Everyone looked surprised, especially Hermione. They all put their books away, and only wands were on their desks now. Sage fished in his pocket for his and pulled it out. He set it on his desk and proceeded to fade out into his own thoughts. His thoughts about what his vision had been about. What the hell was a green rat about anyway. He hadn't really had a chance to think about it yet and it was still in the back of his mind. Sage was also wrestling with what he had been given in that old leather case.

"Mr. Snape."

He shook his head and looked up. Professor McGonagall was standing in front of him. That was the first time anyone had blatantly called on him in class and not hearing Malfoy-Potter in the middle of class jostled him a little, because he had never been addressed by his actual last name much. Malfoy-Potter had always bothered him anyway – it had never been his last name. His father's last name never had a Potter hyphenated into it. His father had been a Snape. He just wasn't used to anyone saying Mr. Snape to him yet.

"Yes professor?"

"I was wondering if you would show the class how to do what you did with your hair after the welcoming feast?"

Sage looked at her with wide blue eyes. Everyone else in the room was staring at him. The professor stared back at him and smiled expectantly_. Why do all these people stare and smile. Smile of all things…_he thought "Umm, all right, I guess. What do you want me to do?"

Her smile got broader. _What is she on about. Why am I showing them the hair thing. I don't even know what it is called. His brain was working overtime._

"Just show them what you did first, dear, then you can explain it."

"With my wand?"

She smiled at him again and shook her head. "Just like you did the other night."

"Ohh," he said. Sage should have known what was coming after the headmaster had said that an opportunity would present itself for him to show the other students what he was capable of. The old wizard had sold him out to McGonagall.

He looked around. All eyes were on him. He gulped. He'd never done anything like this around so many people. He wasn't sure he could focus enough to do it. He closed his eyes so that he could relax for a second. His heart was pounding through his chest. Some of the students started whispering.

"Class…quiet now."

He opened his eyes, took a deep breath, put his hand up to his head, and swished it back and forth twice like he had the other night. Suddenly the blonde tips on his hair came back. Many students gasped. Fourteen year old wizards couldn't do wandless magic! Hermione's mouth was open until she suddenly exclaimed, half jumping up out of her seat. 

"Gods, he's a Manus-Inanis!" she said in surprise, using the proper Latin term for exactly what Sage was called. "That's why all the professors have been treating him differently."

Sage jumped in his seat at the outburst and his pale skin colored slightly. 

Ron looked at her, "A what? Hermione, speak english so the rest of us will understand."

Despite the fact that nobody really used the Latin to refer to what Sage was, Hermione looked at Ron like he was an ignoramus, "A true Magi, a hand wizard, Ron. You know, can do wandless magic, really powerful, like Merlin. You do know who Merlin was don't you?" Ron's eyebrows went up in surprise and then he gave Hermione a dirty look. How could anyone not know who Merlin was.

"WHAT!" Half the class yelled in surprise. 

"But, but there hasn't been one for like hundreds of years!"

"Wicked," Harry said, glad that the attention was off of him for once.

"Why didn't I see it before," Hermione said in a whisper to herself.

"Settle down, settle down," McGonagall finally said, cutting off the whispers.

Sage was blushing as much as his pale skin could. He had kind of slumped down in his chair, more than a little embarassed. Professor McGonagall was smiling at him again. It didn't make him feel any better. Now people would be whispering about him even more.

"Very good, now make it go back," she said to him.

He let out a deep breath and blocked out all the staring faces. Again, he brought his hand up and swished it back and forth. From root to tip it changed back to black again. 

"That's so cool," Seamus said. 

Everyone was smiling at him now. He was a little intimidated by it. He'd never had this much attention on him before.

"Now, Mr. Snape, can you do it without the movement?"

Sage looked at her, she smiled at him. It was a mini battle of wills. He didn't want to try because he didn't want to be a spectacle, she wanted him to try because she was sure he could do it. The professor finally won. 

"I don't know. I've never tried to do this before without the gesture."

"Well, it's my job to challenge you and I don't believe you've been challenged yet in this class."

Sage shifted in his seat, looking kind of annoyed, but then gave up. "I'll try."

The whole class had turned their seats around and was looking at him intently. They had never looked at McGonagall with such excitement, well, maybe Hermione had. Sage sat up better and closed his eyes for a minute. He kept seeing his hair changing into the blonde tips, so that he could focus on what he was doing. He opened his eyes and focused harder. The students, the surroundings, the professor floated to the back of his mind for the moment. Then he did the same thing he usually did only without using his hand. 

Instantaneously, Hermione started clapping. A lot of the other students joined as well. Professor McGonagall had a very pleased look on her face and gave him a pat on the shoulder. He figured his hair had changed, but he couldn't see it. He much preferred Snape's teaching demeanor. A bit more serious, a bit more structured, and not so much smiling. It made him uncomfortable.

Transfiguration thankfully ended and Sage was quite content to get away from the limelight. He slung his black leather bag over his shoulder and walked out. 

"Sage, wait up," Hermione called. 

She ran up to him and grabbed his arm to stop him. He turned around and glared at her defiantly. She didn't seem to be too bothered by his glare. "You forgot your wand on the desk. Not that you, erm, need it. Here." She held it out to him.

His glare softened. She wasn't going to ask him a million and one questions after all. He felt bad for misplacing his glare onto her. That was strange for him. Normally, he never felt bad about glaring at someone even if they didn't deserve it.

"Thanks," he answered, taking the long, black wand back. He started to walk away but she kept stride with him.

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"Nothing to say," he answered. "I'm a freak is all. Happy? Now that you know that I'm an abnormality and all?"

"You don't have to be so rude and sarcastic you know. You sound just like Professor Snape."

"Must run in the family then," he said curtly.

"And you're not a freak. Your gifts are wonderful."

"Mmhmm, thanks," he nodded saccharinely. 

She was beginning to wonder if the sarcasm really did run in the family. Ron and Harry finally caught up to them breathing hard. Sage rolled his eyes. Now everyone was going to bother him. Couldn't he just be left alone like an obscure academic Ravenclaw?

"Wow, that was wicked. Makes up for you being a Snape and all," Ron said. 

Hermione hit him in the shoulder. 

"What was that for Hermione?"

"For being such a rude prat, Ron." She said before turning back to Sage. "Don't listen to him, Sage."

"I'm not," Sage answered monotonously, his blue eyes staring straight forward.

Harry stepped up next to him. "We've all kind of been rude, but I'm Harry Potter," he put his hand out to Sage while they walked. Sage looked at it.

"Well, my _cousin finally decides to introduce himself. Now that I am a Magi, I am worth knowing. Didn't matter that I could have been, and am, related to you, I was related to Professor Snape, and everyone knows how Gryffindors feel about him." Sage looked knives into his eyes._

"I deserve that," Harry answered putting his hand down. "I just, well, you are right I did not come and talk to you because you are his nephew. I didn't think you would want to talk to me, whether we were related or not. I know how the Professor feels about me."

Sage put his hand out finally and Harry shook it with a smile on his face. "I've been taught manners," Sage said flatly. 

Ron jumped at the opportunity too. "Ron, Ron Weasley." 

Sage looked at the big-mouthed red-haired boy and decided it was only proper to shake his hand as well.


	8. Sage's Father

Chapter 8

Sage's Father

Dumbledore looked up from his desk. "Ah Severus, glad you could come on such short notice. You look like you could use a lemon drop."

Snape scowled and sat himself down so that they could get down to business. "I don't think I need a lemon drop. What did you want to talk to me about."

"Suit yourself. I wanted to talk to you about your nephew."

Snape's left eyebrow perked up, "Sage, what did he do now?"

The headmaster smiled and shook his head. "He's done nothing at all. You jump to conclusions so quickly. You would think he was one of the Weasley twins the way you say that."

The potion's master crossed his arms and glared at Dumbledore. "He's already managed trouble in my class and I'm his own uncle."

"That is something that I wished to talk to you about Severus. I know it must be a bit odd to have Sage in your class, but you must realize it is odd for him too. Afterall, the way you act in the classroom is downright frightening most of the time, not to mention unfair and debasing. Sage is not used to that side of you. He is used to you being harsh and stoic and sarcastic but he is not used to the way you act here."

Snape shook his head, "He can adjust. I do not act that much different. Besides, you know that I must keep up appearances for the budding Death Eaters in my house."

"You are very different here to someone who knows you well Severus, and yes I do know what you must go through because of the Slytherins."

A loud scowl came out of the professor's mouth. He was getting annoyed. "Then, pray tell me, what is the problem?"

"The problem is that Sage told me that he didn't think that he belonged here yesterday. I managed to get out a few of the things that were bothering him. On the top of that list was the way you act here and how none of the students like you or respect you. He is upset that they judge both you and him so easily without knowing any of your circumstances."

"Maybe he doesn't belong here Albus, did you ever think of that?"

"You have entirely missed my point."

Snape growled, "Enlighten me then."

"I know that things have not been easy for you either and that it is difficult for you to be responsible for him, but you do not act like much of an uncle to him. Now that he is here, you act even less like one. He has no one else Severus. He clearly has a lot of respect for you if he is upset with how none of the other students respect you or like you. He is an impressive boy."

"I won't baby him, sir, don't ask me to."

Dumbledore sighed, "I was paying both you and him a compliment, Severus. I'm not asking you to baby him. I am asking you to show him that he matters every once and awhile. Don't think that I don't know that you care for him. You don't have to act like you aren't human. I saw the way you looked at him when he had that attack. I've seen that look before. Don't pretend that Sage doesn't matter to you. He's your brother's son Severus, he's Jace's son."

"Don't talk about him," Snape barked suddenly.

"I won't ignore his existence like you do, or Lily's for that matter. They are gone, yes, and that hurts. Don't you think that Sage shares that same pain? He never knew his father. I'd wager he's even seen his own father's death during his visions. You're the only person he talks to, Severus, he hardly even answered me. He trusts you. You need to get passed all of this for him, it's time."

"I don't need this," Snape growled getting up. 

"He needs it and so do you, you have never dealt with your loss. Talk to him about his father, Severus. It'll help both of you get through the pain."

Snape looked back and threw a poisoned sneer back at Dumbledore, "Pain, you know nothing of pain. That boy knows more of pain than you'll ever know. He lives through the worst pain imagineable once a fortnight. Do not begin to talk about pain."

Sage was sitting engulfed in a table of third year Gryffindors who suddenly had found a liking for him. Sage however, had not found a liking for all the attention and all the noise. His standing up to Snape had upped his popularity, but being a Magi had also quadrupled that. Although some students were scared of him or thought that he was evil or mean because of being Snape's nephew – especially the younger ones. Now, he was beginning to feel claustrophobic, with all the people sitting by him.

"Hey Sage, can you transfigure this water into Rum?"

Sage looked at Seamus and was about to open his mouth when a shadow came over him.

"You had better not," Snape threatened.

Sage turned away from the table and faced his uncle.

"I wouldn't sir. I was going to say that I could but wouldn't."

"You will not let your…housemates…ruin all sense of propriety in you. Nor will you forget the expectations of you." He said the word 'housemates' in such a forced tone that there was no doubt he had wanted to say something else.

Sage stared at him, unsure of what to make of his uncle's words and attitude. He knew better than to risk an answer. If he said the wrong thing, he would regret it. 

Snape let a low growl out, "We need to talk, now."

"Yes sir," Sage said picking up his bag.

He got up from the table, caught a few sympathetic looks, and began to follow his uncle out of the hall. Snape stalked down the hallway with Sage following one step behind. Soon they were in the dank confines of the dungeons and in Snape's office. They both stood facing each other, staring, blankly staring. Sage was obviously the one to look down first, as he always was. This deference satisfied Snape, and he leaned back against his desk.

"Sit," he ordered, dragging out the syllable.

Sage obeyed and took a seat in the chair in front of Snape's desk, the very spot his uncle was looming over. His blue eyes just stared forward, focusing somewhere near where Snape had his arms folded across his chest.

"I will not have you running wild around here."

Sage looked up at him, confused. "I don't understand, sir."

"Your new _friends have a reputation for rule breaking."_

The confused look still plastered on his face he said, "Sir, I don't understand what that's got to do with me?"

Snape growled again. "You will not be."

"Breaking the rules, sir?"

"YES, are you that slow-witted?"

Sage looked down again, but the acid was still in his voice when he replied, "No, I was just thinking that I am not that easily influenced, uncle. And they _aren't my friends. I much prefer my own company to theirs. __They just started talking to __me."_

Severus grabbed him by the chin and made him look up. He gave Sage a look of warning with his eyes blazing. "I do not suggest taking that tone with me again."

Sage softened, feeling guilty. "Sorry." Snape let go of his chin with a huff.

"Now that the whole school knows what you are, you will need to keep up your guard."

_What is he on about_ Sage thought. _He's all bothered about something. _

Snape read his confused look and continued. "Have you not noticed how quickly everyone wants to befriend you now? Now that they know what you are capable of, that you're a Magi. You just need to be aware that a good number of them would simply use you. Gryffindors are not worthy of your trust."

"Use me?" Sage raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, use you. Use you like Finnegan would have to turn that water into Rum."

Sage shook his head, "But, I wasn't going to do it anyways, sir."

"Likely," the man said raising his eyebrow in doubt. "Think for yourself."

"Yes sir," he answered nodding. "I will."

"Hmmm."

Sage looked up at the man. Snape's eye was twitching – it always twitched when he was bothered about something. 

"I wouldn't do anything to disappoint or embarrass you uncle, really. My trust is not that easily gained. I don't even know these people."

A slight growling noise came from the man as he massaged his temples. He was battling in his brain over what Dumbledore had said to him, what he himself felt, and what he didn't want to show. Sage noticed the man soften a little bit. 

"Sir?"

Snape snapped back to life and stared down at Sage again.

"Just be careful. People are not always what they seem. Even your friends can betray you and use you. You must be vigilant because of your powers. This is all new to you, you need to be aware."

Sage was quiet and pensive. Severus looked at him keenly, trying to pick up on anything. He felt that Sage was uncomfortable, that there was something he wasn't saying.

"Is there something you want to ask me?" Snape said, trying to get the boy to tell him what was wrong.

Sage looked up again, his blue eyes has a certain concern in them. "Uncle, do you trust anybody?"

"I've only trusted two people fully in my entire life, and they both were killed."

"My father," he said quietly, almost in a whisper.


	9. A Brother Lost and A Soul Saved

Chapter 9

A Brother Lost and a Soul Saved

             The way Sage had said "My father" made a pang of guilt and a wave of anger go through Severus' body. After all these years, he could not keep those two feelings back in the recesses of his mind whenever his half-brother was mentioned. His death was still fresh after twelve years and Severus still felt like the 20 year old standing in the circle when he had found out. The words that he could hardly believe coming directly from the Dark Lord's own mouth. Severus had been in many ways still a boy, ignorant of all the consequences of the world and of the real nature of evil. Instantly he had disapparated from the circle, not caring what the consequences would be, and then apparated outside their ancestral home to find it with the Dark Mark overhead. It had been true. When he rushed inside, he was accosted by his sister-in-law yelling and screaming and banging her fists against him…

 "How could you let this happen to us? How could you? You didn't even try to help… Are you a coward Severus Snape or have you found a new family with that thing?" She whined in a voice that boomed through his eardrums.

            "I didn't know! I didn't know, I swear. Do you think he would tell me. Gods, I would have come here to help him, I would have died with him. Sybein, he's my brother, I never would have just let him die."

            Her face was bright pink, her eyes beet red, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. "You're a fucking monster, what have you become that you take part in this." She slapped him hard across the face. 

 He jumped, quite startled, and grabbed his cheek.

"He _was your brother," she added to drive the dagger home. "He __was my husband. He __was a father."_

            "I'll make it right, I swear to you. Someone will pay for what's been done here."

            "You cannot make it right, you cannot bring him back. Do you know, Severus, that everyday your brother would perform the protection ritual for you because it killed him inside that you were doing this, he would spend over an hour on it. He never judged you, never said anything bad about you, and said that you had your reasons. Everyday, he feared that something would happen to you, that you would be killed by aurors like your father."

            He stood there in shock, his mouth wide-open. Everyday his own brother would spill his own blood for his protection and he never knew about it? The protection ritual was arduous and complex and at the end required the maker to let their blood flow freely into the circle of candles. Jace had done that for him? What had he done in return, he had let him die, he had performed no such ritual for his brother, or done anything else to help him for that matter. He blinked back to reality

            "Gods, I'm sorry. I didn't know. What have I done?"

            He ran his hands through his hair and put his head down. When he looked up, she was no longer standing in front of him and he could see his brother's body lying on the floor in the living room. The living room they used to run around chasing each other in when they were young. As he walked to the side of his only brother, he felt the sickness churning in his stomach. He fell to his knees and took his brother's hand, it was cold. There were red marks all over his body, marks that showed he had been heard the word 'crucio' many times before he had finally been given death. A tear fell down his cheek and was soon followed by many others, each falling onto the body of his brother.

            "I should have been here to stop it, if I wasn't with them, I would have been here. I didn't know."

            He stayed there on the floor until the tears stopped coming. Suddenly, he could hear the cries of the child. He had been so consumed with his own thoughts that he never heard Sage's cries. The baby was sitting there mouth wide open, face shriveled and red, crying louder than Severus had ever heard a baby cry before. He picked him up and tried to quiet him, but it was obvious he wasn't crying because no one was paying attention to him. His wide blue eyes were bloodshot. 

The minute he set foot in the living room again, Sybein jumped up from Jace's side and yelled at him, "Give me my baby, don't you go near him. He's been through enough tonight, he doesn't need to be in the arms of another Death Eater."

            She turned towards the door with trunks and suitcases levitating behind her.

            "Where are you going? Stay here, I can protect you and Sage."

            When she turned Severus jumped back because she looked as if she was going to kill him with her eyes. "Protect us? Shouldn't you have been doing that before? I don't trust you Severus, not at all, I'm not as good a person as your brother was. You don't trust something _burned by evil."_

            "But where will you go." He said exasperated.

            "And I'm going to tell you that, why? So that when Voldemort changes his mind about killing Sage, you'll be there to tell him where to go? I don't think so Severus, I'm not that stupid. You won't be seeing us again."

            Severus took a step forward with resolve. "Sage, he tried to kill Sage too?"

            Sybein turned one last time, holding her baby tightly, "Yes, baby or not, anything with the blood of a Potter. I saved him for now but not without a cost. He knows the secret."

            Severus frowned in confusion, "What secret?"

            "Why don't you ask your Dark Lord all about it and then ask him what he did to your nephew. Even your own brother couldn't trust the child's own _Godfather_ with that information, why do you think that would be Severus? It was the only secret he ever kept from you Severus."

            After the funeral, Severus stayed by his brother's grave until late at night when he was sure to be alone. He took at the bag he had hidden nearby, kneeled down, and began taking out its contents. Each black candle he set on the ground in a circle, whispering words as he went along, until all thirteen were placed out. He lit them one by one in reverse order, again whispering as he went along. Next, a picture was placed in the center of the ring. The beginning of the ritual was complete. He said the long incantation out loud, from memory, as it had to be done. The candles had to burn down half way, so he waited, kneeling there whispering words not all unlike prayers.

            The moon was high overhead when he finally took out the knife. He used it to prick both of his index fingers and then he rubbed his index fingers against his thumbs to spread the blood. Starting with the candles farthest from him in the circle he grabbed the firey wick and extinguished them one by one - left side first and then right side, then back left and then right again. His breath was low, his face as expressionless as he could muster, his eyes glossy but with an unmatched sadness. For a few moments he watched the lone candle burn of strongly in front of him, sending a faint cry of smoke up with it as if burned down. 

            He picked up the knife again, this time with purpose, with an anger mixed into his sadness. He held his left hand palm up, brought the knife to it, and then closed his hand around the blade slicing all the way from between his index finger and his thumb to the other side of his palm. The process was repeated with his right hand. He held them over the middle of the circle, clenching his fists so that the blood poured down from his hands near to the picture. Again he began to speak the second incantation, his hands full of blood and his forearms splattered too. Then he said their names slowly choking over the name of his brother.

            He did the protection ritual for his brother, in his memory, for his safe passage, and for his family. A family Jace had shared with Severus, a family that was now as wrenched from him as his brother had been. And he swore, over his brother's grave, over the one remaining sacred candle, that he would change things and would have his retribution for what was done in his own home. Then he left the lone candle to burn down by itself.

            At the funeral he had seen Professor Dumbledore and he had known what he must do, and he was more than ready to do it regardless of what would happen to him. He was sick everytime he thought of the Dark Lord and of serving him, serving the man that had killed his blood. Now he was standing outside of the gargoyle with apprehension, not knowing what to say or how to begin. He was twenty years old and he felt like a first year student waiting for a detention sentence. First, he had to think of the password.

            "Lemon drop." _No, that's too easy._

            Severus didn't have a large pool of candy knowledge to draw from.

            "Bertie Botts." _Nope._

            "Ergh! Chocolate Frogs." _Damn._

            "Butter Toffee." _This is going to take forever!_

            "Truffles. Peanut Brittle. Peppermints. Droobles Blowing Gum. Taffy. Bon Bons. Swedish Fish. Turkish Delight. Damn! Damn! Damn!" He said getting aggravated and giving the gargoyle a swift kick.

            "You might want to try Twizzlers, Severus."

            He turned to see the smiling face of the headmaster looking at him with absolute amusement. "I expected you would be here to talk before long. Why don't we go up to my office and have some tea. Maybe a few Twizzlers as well." He said patting Severus on the shoulder like he was still a child.

            Severus just muttered "Twizzlers?" under his breath and shook his head. _He is such an odd, odd man. _

            Dumbledore must have heard him because he continued, "Yes, dear boy, Twizzlers. One of the muggle-born students got me started on them. They are actually quite good. Makes mouths happy, you know." The old man chuckled.

            _It amazes me that this man is one of the most powerful wizards in the world and the one that the Dark Lord fears. _

            Dumbledore sat down behind his desk after offering a stoney Snape some tea. Severus stood there with his arms crossed and watched the headmaster take a sip.

            "You can sit down, Severus."

            Severus huffed. Dumbledore was all too used to this. Talking to a Snape was like participating in a very intricate dance, you had to make every little piece fall into place at exactly the right time. Talking to Severus had always been a particular artform.

            "What can I do for you then?" he said smiling while staring at him.

            The young man uncrossed his arms, reached into his robes, and took out his wand. He strode forward and offered it to Dumbledore.

            "You can take this."

            The headmaster raised an eyebrow at him and let him stay holding it out. "And why would I do that?"

            "Because I'm a dark wizard, I follow Voldemort." He exclaimed slamming the wand down on the desk in front of the headmaster. Then he thrust up his sleeve and shoved his dark mark down under Dumbledore's nose. "I bear the Dark Mark."

            "I've known that for quite some time, Severus."

            The young man stood in shock with his mouth wide open. Dumbledore smiled, he had played his cards right and now the conversation would be all in his hands.

            "You, you knew, and you didn't, didn't do anything?"

            Dumbledore stared back at him, the smile fading off his face. "And what would I do Severus? Shake my finger at you? Give you detention? Turn you in? Kill you? I should think not."

            "And why not turn me in, plenty of others have been. I've come here asking for it."

            Dumbledore smiled softly. "No, son, you've come here for my help. You've come here for your salvation, for your brother. You didn't come here because you wanted to go to Azkaban."

            Severus looked down and ran his hand through his hair. Dumbledore knew the defenses were breaking down. He was not that out of practice at the art of talking to Severus. He had always been quite good at it.

            "But sir, I've killed people, I've tortured people, I've done horrible things."

            Dumbledore reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, Severus, you have done horrible things. But when you got that mark you were no more than an angry child who wanted revenge on those who killed his father. That hardly makes you a bad person, it simply makes you a naïve seventeen year old boy. Since then you have been forced into committing acts you had no desire to commit."

            Severus sat down in the chair finally and cradled his head in his hands. "You knew I had the mark when I was here?" he said in a whisper.

            "Yes, I did. I knew before you went to get it that you would go."

            "Why didn't you stop me?"

            Dumbledore pursed his lips, unsure of how to proceed, "Because I would not have stopped you, nothing I could have said or done short of chaining you up in the dungeons would have kept you from getting that mark. I am not much for interrupting the narrative fate dictates for us Severus, and I knew that you would come back stronger, so I let you go."

            The young man sat in the chair, his hands still on his cheeks, his head down. He was drowning in his own thoughts and realizations. His brother was dead, he was defying the Dark Lord, he was… there were… tears in his eyes? He was so confused. Severus Snape didn't get tears in his eyes. Well, he had when he saw Jace's body, but other than that he didn't get tears in his eyes. Never.

            Next thing he knew the headmaster was standing next to him rubbing his shoulder and looking down at him protectively.

            "I'm so sorry, sir."

            "I know you are. I believe I take care of things, but not without conditions. I am sorry about what's happened to you, about what you've lost. I failed you too, Severus."

            Severus broke down completely, and just let the tears come. He felt like a little first year. Dumbledore always had a way to break through to him. He just let the older man pull his head up against his stomach and put his arm around him. 

            "Gods, what have I done. My brother. Jace…"

            "He was supposed to die, Severus. I know that doesn't make it feel better and it seems unfair, but he was supposed to die. It will all fit together in the end and you'll understand."

            A few minutes later Severus quickly gained his composure and moved away. He looked up at Dumbledore. 

            "What is going to happen now."

            Dumbledore looked down over his half-moon glasses at the young man that had just been a student two years ago. "You tell me, Severus, what do you want to do?"

            He reflected, he knew what he wanted to do but he was not sure if the old wizard would go along with it. "I want him to pay, I want to go back to him, and I want to give up everything he says, everything he wants to do. I want to save people and their families, so that no one ever has to feel what I did again. I'll tell you everything." He clenched his fists until his fingers became even whiter. 

            "Severus, are you sure you want to do this? I would never ask it of you, it is more dangerous than I could even tell you."

            "You don't need to, I know. I've seen what happens when Voldemort gets suspicious of his followers. I want to do it, and I will with your permission or without."

            Dumbledore half-smiled and then rubbed his chin. "You will need to be protected in some way. You will need to be excluded from participating in most of his plans."

            Severus nodded and crossed his arms again. "That may prove to be more difficult. Lucius tries to drag me along on everything."

            "Young Mr. Malfoy never did know how to think for himself. But, I think I may be able to help along those lines."

            The young man's eyebrows jumped up and he looked to the headmaster for his answer to their problem. Dumbledore smiled again and his eyes were twinkling. 

            "After this year, we are losing one of our staff members to retirement. I do believe you could fill the spot of our potion's master."

            Severus' mouth dropped open, "Me sir, a professor, but I'm only twenty?"

            Dumbledore shook his head merrily, "Yes but you could out-brew the professor even when you were here. You have quite the able mind, Severus."

            "But, but headmaster, I hate ignorant, annoying children. I had to restrain myself from ousting first years when I was here!"

            The young man's exasperation was quite comical. Dumbledore pat him on the back. This new job would be some new brand of torture meant to break him, at least Severus thought it would be.

            "You'll learn to like it, Severus, and all of the children. You like your nephew." The old wizard said holding back a smile.

            "Sir, he's not even two years old, he can't be annoying, he can't hardly speak full sentences!"

            Dumbledore pat him on the back again before sitting behind his desk. "It's decided then, no more argument. You can move in here whenever you want, we'll start you right away. You can assistant teach for the rest of the year so that you can get acclimated to being a professor and not a student."

            Severus jumped with a start when he felt someone squeeze his arm. 

            "Uncle? Uncle Severus? Sir, are you okay?"

            Sage was sitting forward in the chair in front of him, the boy's hand on his arm. His face was plastered with concern. Those same wide blue eyes were staring at him. It felt like just a second ago when he held the screaming baby.

            "Yes, I'm fine," he shook his head slightly and remembered what he had been doing before he had been dragged back into the past by his thoughts. He stared down at the boy sitting in front of him. He had been telling Sage that he had only trusted two people in his entire life and Sage had correctly said that one was his father. "Your father was a good man and a good brother."

            Sage looked down and nodded. Severus could hear his breathing become louder. A similar kind of painful thought to the one that had caught Severus was now trying to catch Sage. "Sage, I'm not really one for this, I'm not good at it, but do you want to talk about it, about him?" He took a deep breath, he didn't want to talk to his nephew about it, but he would if he had to. He didn't want to talk to anyone about Jace. He wanted to continue burying it. Dumbledore had been right, he wasn't being too good of an uncle now that he was back at Hogwarts and he was only a mediocre one at home.

            The blue eyes looked up at him and locked into his gaze. Normally, no one could see the sadness blanketed around Sage, but Severus could, because he tried to hide it the same way. Both of them were very good at it, but Severus had more experience burying it. He could see it surfacing in his nephew's eyes and in the way his face looked so open and pliable while it was trying to look blank. Severus realized that he could read Sage much in the same way that Dumbledore was always able to read him.

            "No, I don't really, sir, I'm not ready… to talk about it yet, to know more than I already know."

            Severus sighed with relief and then put his hand up to Sage's head. It felt foreign to touch someone else like that. "I'm not ready either. There's nothing wrong with that. You let me know."

            Sage nodded again and looked away. "I will, sir."


	10. Hermione's Curiosity

Chapter 10

Hermione's Curiosity            

Hermione sat alone on her bed in the 3rd year girls dormitories. It was Sunday night and they had a test tomorrow in Transfiguration, even Ron had gone to the library with the others. Transfiguration was Hermione's best subject and she had already spent the entire week buried in her books. For the first time in a long time, she just wanted to sit and think, not read, not write, not study, just think. So much had happened in the last two weeks that she was overloaded with thoughts running through her mind.

            She was mad at herself for not figuring out that Sage was Snape's nephew. It was so blatantly clear to her now that she did not understand how she could have missed it. She was certain she would not have missed it if Sage only had long hair, but hindsight is always clearer. 

            They look a lot alike, I'm so stupid for not noticing. They have such similar features other than their eyes. Even their mannerisms are similar, but I suppose that could be learned so maybe I'm not that slow. It just seems so obvious now. 

            As she continued to shake her head at her lack of perception, she thought she heard something coming from downstairs. She brushed it off and went back to her thoughts. She was even more aggravated with herself for not figuring out that Sage's special gifts that all the professors kept referring to were those gifts of the true magi. Not just a wizard or a witch, but powers of a true magi. She marvelled. It was so interesting and lucky that she would have the experience of going to school with one, she could learn a lot from him. A true magi was like a wizard with limitless powers, although few true magi ever got to that point, but it was at least possible for them. 

Everything must seem so simple to him, he must have been doing all of this for ages. And with Professor Snape as his uncle and his teacher, he had to have been driven in his studies. Gods, he's probably one of the smartest people here and no one even looks twice at him, talks to him. All the boys are concerned about is what cool things he can do, but think of all the practical things he must know, all of the magic. One day he could be as great as Merlin! That's just so incomparable. 

She kept thinking about the wonder of being a hand wizard, but she did not think of any of the drawbacks. Any of the pain that goes along with being the only one of your kind, of not being able to find answers to simple questions about your existence, about being tortured through visions, or pained with death all around you. Hermione did not think about the heightened senses that came with being a true magi, and in a world full of a lot of pain, heightened senses were a curse. She really did not know anything about him, anything at all, and she certainly did not understand him, but she wanted to.

_The days of darkness were marked by torment for all those who went against the Nag, the order of supporters of the Pharaoh and God, Ra. His symbol was a great red eye, the all seeing eye, because there was nothing that could escape Ra. The icon of the all seeing eye would cause all present to fall to their knees with their faces to the sand. Even the eye caused the fear of death in the people. All had the greatest fear of the Dark One. Some of those who had seen him never spoke again, but were lost into the throws of madness._

_His evil was unmatchable, his thirst for power, like a thirst for water in the midst of the desert. Ra cast curses upon families that would cause the worst imaginable sicknesses and torment. Boils that would itch so badly that the person would claw them off their body until they eventually bled to death from the gaping holes in their skin. People were flayed alive or their skin burned off. Through this Ra would sit and watch, his face motionless, his eyes piercing. _

_Beside him always was the one that the Nag were named after, the man who was called by no other name but Nag, Egyptian for "the snake". He too was as frightening to the people as Ra. His face ghostly white, unhuman looking, his hair as black as his empty eyes, his ornamentation a large black cobra's head that spanned from his shoulders and ended with the fangs of the snake just over his forehead. Nag himself was said to have fangs. He had grown up with the pharaoh and had learned of his powers. Nag always knew that one day he would be beside Ra and would exploit those powers to their gain. Nag was the only man that Ra would speak to, but it was said that Ra's voice was such a torment itself that it sounded like an unhuman rasp that could pierce the eardrums._

_ Nag had gained supporters for Ra early in their youth, Ra named them The Order of the Nag, or The Nag as was common. The Nag were all dark wizards who bore the mark of the all seeing eye on their left bicep. They held meetings amongst fire and asps in the catacombs, where Nag would tell them the word of Ra. The Nag would bring their leader and connection to the God Ra a sacrifice, a woman. Nobody spoke of how the sacrifice was performed or of how Nag killed her, but the Order never dared to defy him or their God and Pharaoh Amun Ra. They would then go forth and bring down Ra's wrath on all those unworthy. They conquered all of Egypt and enslaved millions of people. Enslaved those who were considered beneath them, people who were not capable of any wizardry. _

Few wizards dared to defy Ra, because the penalty was swift and fast and horrid. Too horrid even to mention. Those who did defy Ra were driven underground into tombs and forgotten temples. There they sat and waited, trying to figure out how to kill the true magi, how to kill the supreme hand wizard Amun Ra, and how to bring back the light. As the followers of Ra worshipped the snake, the followers of the light worshipped the pheonix. The pheonix was the only means they had to sustain life, so many of them had been cursed by Ra. The tears had saved many of them. The Order of the Pheonix, as they were called, had little hope of defeating Ra as the powers of a true magi were far beyond those of any mere wizard. They could not hope for another true magi to be born because there had never been two at one time and there had only been one before Ra. All the Order of the Pheonix had was one man, the wise man and great wizard called Fawkes. 

Sage sat down the scroll and sat back in his chair. Shock and confusion might have been appropriate to describe what he was feeling, but he was really passed that. If anything, he was even more confused with what any of the stuff in the leather case meant. There was one connection that he was beginning to make… the was something similar about the Death Eaters and the Nag, the worship of snakes, the obedience to their dark lord, the mark of the all seeing eye and the Dark Mark. After reading about Ra, Sage was at least glad that he was the Magi and not Voldemort. Voldemort no longer seemed as scary or as evil after reading about Ra. Afterall, Voldemort had only been around for fifty years, Ra had reigned torment for a thousand years. He also had a new found appreciation for all the rules he was forced to live by, it was now clear why his uncle was so protective of him; it was clear why Voldemort would love to have a pet Magi. 

The one thing Sage missed out of his reading of the scroll was why many people were afraid of the Magi, why the Minister of Magic had been so careful about what to do with him. In the span of history, only one true magi ever went to the dark, thousands of years prior, only one, Amun Ra. He had inspired so much fear that he was treated as a God and called a God. The fact that only one had ever gone bad is what saved Sage from an immediate death, the fact that Merlin was a true magi and was the beacon of wizardry was the reason that gave people hope about what he was capable of. But being only fourteen, he almost completely missed the big picture.

The sullen, pessimistic feeling that came over him was too much to ignore. He had to stop reading, he was getting the sick feeling that he generally got before one of his visions. He suddenly had an epiphany, he didn't just feel sick before and after he had his visions, he felt sick before anything bad happened, when he was around anyone evil (like Lucius Malfoy), or when he was contemplating horrible things. It was like his body had an aversion to evil and was extra-sensitive to suffering and pain. Growing inside of him was an aggravation that he had to feel these things, that he had to feel so much pain, that he had to have headaches and feel sick. He realized that his uncle was right, it was never over, he was never fine, and it made him feel even more alone.

Hermione jumped out of her thoughts when she heard the sound coming from downstairs again. It was vaguely familiar, but very strange to be coming from within Hogwarts. She opened the door to the girl's dorms and ventured out with jeans and a sweater on. She followed the sound downstairs and then to the other side of the Gryffindor dorms, to the boy's side. It became clearer and stronger.

"_It seems like every day's the same_

_And I'm left to discover on my own _

_It seems like everything is gray_

_And there's no color to behold_

_They say it's over and I'm fine again…"_

            Someone was singing. Besides that, and the thing that was so hard for her to believe, someone was playing a muggle guitar. Playing a muggle guitar and singing in Hogwarts, it suddenly reminded her of being home and listening to the radio. To the strong strumming and angsty songs on the popular radio station. She walked closer to the music, passed Percy's room, and she stopped dead in her tracks. It couldn't be. Could it? She continued to listen to his voice coming through his closed door.

_"…Try to stay sober feels like I'm dying here _

_ And I am aware now of how_

_Everything's gonna be fine _

_one day Too late, I'm in hell _

_I am prepared now_

_Since everyone's gonna be fine_

_One day too late, just as well."_

            With a jolt the music stopped. Hermione stood outside of the door, waiting to see whether it would continue or not. The door flew open.

            "What do you think you are doing?" scowled one angry Sage Snape.

            "I, I just heard you playing from upstairs. I'm sorry, I just, well, love muggle music and I never get to hear it here and I just wanted to know who was playing it. I, erm, feel so stupid for invading your privacy like that."

            "Invading my privacy indeed!"

            "I'm sorry, Sage" 

            "You should be sorry!" he exclaimed before muttering to himself, "If I would have known that anyone was here, I would have put sound charms around my damn room. Gods, just great, just great."

"I just, well, you play really wonderfully."

He just answered with a grunt still apparently aggravated with her intrusion.

"It was really rude of me."

"I should think so!"  He must have said it just a little too loudly and a little too abruptly because Hermione jumped about a foot in the air. Sage shook his head slightly. She looked like she was about ready to cry. He didn't want to be a git. He hadn't quite perfected the art of being mean like his uncle had, but then again Snape had a very good reason to act that way. She must have seen his facial expression soften because she ventured to say more.

"You should play more often and let people hear you. You're really talented."

"What!" He said exasperated. "Nobody has ever heard me play before. Why would I want them too?"

"Not even your uncle?"

Sage's eyes opened wide and he blinked in surprise. "My uncle, Gods no, the second I got the thing, he was busying me with a lecture about how he did not comprehend why I would spend my time in such trite, muggle endeavors that were quite beneath me. Then, he taught me a soundproofing spell so that he wouldn't have to hear it. The word 'guitar' has become quite blasphemous in the household."

Hermione smiled and took a step forward. Sage crossed his arms as if discouraging her from coming any closer. He stood up a little taller and stared down at her blue eyes blazing.

"I bet if he heard you, he'd like it."

Sage let his arms drop down and then waved them around as he said, "My uncle? Are you talking about my uncle, Professor Severus Snape or are you confused? It sure sounds like it. He hates anything muggle. He surely wouldn't like it and has completely no interest in it."

"Well I like to hear you play."

Sage took a step forward. "And why would I care if you like to hear me play? Especially when I don't want anyone to hear it and you go sneaking around outside of my door."

"What is the matter with you?"

He crossed his arms across his chest again and growled, "What? Am I supposed to like girls sneaking around me asking me a thousand and one annoying questions and invading my privacy?"

Hermione's mouth dropped open and any trace of the smile that was once on her face was now gone. "You can be such a git, for being such a high and mighty mannered pureblood. You are an prat most of the time. Don't you want any friends or do you just want to push everyone away?"

Sage stepped forward and stood a few inches in front of her, trying to dominate the situation with his looming height over her. She didn't move back. 

"If I'm such a git why are _you talking to __me then, why are _you_ standing outside of _my_ room?" He hissed, narrowing his eyes._

"Because Sage Snape, I was giving you a chance. I thought, maybe, just maybe you were different than what you let on. That it was just all you've been through that made you that way and that you'd warm up. I tried to be your friend before we all knew about your powers, I respected you because you work hard and have more of a brain than most people here ever will. I didn't care that you are Professor Snape's nephew. I did not judge you like everyone else. I tried to be nice and help you. What do I get in return? You ignore me, stare at me, push me away, and you're almost nastier than Malfoy. Or maybe that runs in the family too. Apparently I was wrong to think you were any different, maybe you do belong in Slytherin."

He stared down at her like a statue, she stared back with as much acid in her look as she could manage. He was so close she could feel his hot and angry breaths. She kept looking up into his stare, he was a lot taller than Ron and Harry, but she was not that intimidated. A few moments later she blinked and looked away. Staring was hard work. When she looked back up, his eyes were less mean, and his mouth less pursed.

"I'm not going to apologize for being angry about my privacy being invaded."

She looked up defiantly. "Well then, what are you going to do?"

She had gotten to him finally - his weak spot, being associated with his rude, ignorant, arrogant cousin, Draco Malfoy.

"I said it because I am angry, that's all. We are all given to exaggeration when we are angry." He leaned against the wall

Hermione also leaned against the wall. "Does that mean that you don't want me to be mad at you?"

"Yes, I suppose."

"You suppose? Well, I suppose that you will not be mad at me as well then?"

"I suppose not."

Hermione stood back up, with Sage leaning if she stood up she was face to face with him. His glare had completely softened, it wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't mean. The slight flush had faded from his cheeks. 

He sighed uncomfortably, he wasn't enjoying this. For some reason, she had really made him feel completely horrible. He felt so vulnerable and normally the only person he ever felt vulnerable around was his uncle.

"Now, does this mean that you do want to be my friend?" She said this fighting the smile from off of her face. She was winning.

"I guess so." He said apathetically.

Hermione put her right hand on her hip. "You guess? That doesn't sound so convincing to me. You are going to have to do better than that after your lovely displays of sarcasm and bitterness the last few weeks."

It was his turn to stand up. He folded his arms again. She giggled inside because it was so like Professor Snape. It was his power position, the standing up with his arms crossed. She found it both cute and endearing.

"Errr, fine." He moved away from the door and put his arm out towards it as if motioning her inside. She stood there frozen with shock. She definitely hadn't expected this, especially since he had been so mad over her listening in the first place. 

"Well, do you want to listen or not?"

She walked into his room without answering.


	11. A Room of His Own

Chapter 11

A Room of His Own

Candles were lit sporadically around the large room. She couldn't help but wonder how he had managed to get such a nice room. Even being Snape's nephew it didn't make any sense. She supposed it had to do with his powers or one of the other mysteries surrounding him. He was rather secretive about everything, but she was sure there was a good reason why he had his own room.

He sat down on the bed while she looked around in a state resembling shock. There was a large bookcase, next to a desk and dresser, which was filled with books. A lot of them were really old. She looked back at him with her mouth open in wonderment, "Can I borrow some of these sometime?"

"Some of them, probably. Others not. Most of them are not what you would consider Hogwarts' kind of books. I'd have to ask Professor Snape."

She looked back at the books and began to notice that almost half of them had titles that hinted about the Dark Arts. She turned to look at the rest of the room. In the corner near the bed was a large hard leather case in a very strange shape, she let it pass. The table next to his bed had a few potion bottles on it and two books. Nowhere in the room did she see any pictures. That struck her as rather peculiar. There was a very comfortable looking black leather chair over by the bed where he was sitting and in front of it a very small fireplace. It probably shared a floo with the one in the common room. Hermione was amazed at how nice it was. When she turned, she noticed a quidditch banner, she wasn't sure but she thought it was Chudley Cannons, Ron's favorite team.

"Do you like quidditch?" She asked him with a confused look on her face.

"Of course, is there any decent wizard that doesn't?" He returned.

Hermione smiled, "Professor Snape."

It was his turn to smirk, it was almost more of a maniacal grin, "And who said that he doesn't?"

Her mouth dropped open completely, she staggered and then dropped down in the leather chair and angled it to face him. "You mean???"

"Yes, he loves it. Just don't say anything. He likes to keep things private you know. Anyway, it is quite judgemental to think that someone who is an academic would not like quidditch."

She looked down sheepishly, "You two, erm, just don't look like the type."

"Mmm, and I'm sure I am the type that looks as if he would play the guitar?"

"Point taken."

"People make lots of judgement about me and my uncle I've noticed." He muttered. She chose to ignore it wisely, there was no need to bring any bitterness to their conversation.

"You have a really nice room, the fireplace is cozy."

He let out a huff of air that was a kind of aggravated laugh. "More of an immense annoyance. I think it's there so that Professor Snape can make sure that I am studying and not being corrupted by rogue, rule-breaking Gryffindors."

Hermione laughed slightly before stopping herself. Sage didn't seem to think it was so funny. "Does he really check up on you often?"

"Yes, of course he does. Makes sure that I don't have any girls in here, you know."

She stiffened with absolute fright. Sage slowly let his evil smile give himself away. She slapped him on the shoulder in mock anger. "Actually," he said, "he pokes his head in here every so often. The official purpose of the fireplace is so that I can summon him quickly if I have an attack. In reality, I think it's more to make sure I am behaving as befits me." 

"Behaving as befits you? That sounds rather stuffy."

Sage cleared his throat and stared at her lightly. "Yes, how did you put it," he began, "for being such a high and mighty, mannered, pureblood."

He picked up the guitar off his bed. It was a metallic looking black with a slight hugh of midnight blue. He held the darkwooded neck tightly and then looked at her. 

"So, are you going to ask me hundreds more questions or do you want to listen to me play?"

Sage sat in the potion's classroom the next night tapping his fingers on the table in front of him. He was staring at the space in front of him intently. His mentor and uncle was grading papers at his desk. He was very busy writing comments all over his second year essays, no doubt most of them were negative, as he was shaking his head throughout the process.

_Focus, Focus, Focus. Argh, I can't focus_, Sage thought continuing to tap his fingers. He narrowed his eyes and stared harder. 

"Would you quit that infernal tapping!"

Sage looked up at the diligent professor, "Sorry, sir."

Sage put his hands flat on the table and continued to stare in front of him, his eyelids twitching every few moments. _How am I supposed to do this when I can't concentrate? That damn leather case and its damn scrolls. It just keeps invading my mind. "_I can't do it," he muttered to himself.

Snape snapped his head up and looked pointedly at Sage. "What are you on about now? Tapping, talking to yourself. Are you trying to annoy me?"

"No." Sage looked down and closed his eyes.

"Then what?" Snape asked bitterly.

"It's just, I, can't do it."

Severus stood up and walked over to him. Sage could feel it coming on and he could feel his body shrink in response. Snape crossed his arms on his chest and stared down with ferocity welling up inside his eyes.

"That is not acceptable. It has only been twenty minutes, if you are that impatient you will not get very far with your training. I would not think you would give up so easily. Very disappointing Sage, I thought your ability to focus was much stronger than that."

"Normally it is, uncle."

Severus huffed and then growled, "Normally is not good enough. You need to have it about you all of the time, in any situation, amidst distraction. If you cannot manage to focus in my classroom with nothing around you, how will you focus when your life depends upon it?"

"I don't know, sir." He felt like a child. Like the seven year old child Snape had lectured day in and day out.

His uncle sat down in front of him and stared him down. "I thought that you would be able to teach yourself this on your own, but I see I need to walk you through it."

Muggle Studies class was quite interesting to him, afterall he had been living in a house that knew little detail about muggles and did not really care to know anything more than was necessary. Snape found most of them to be boisterous, rude, ignorant, and rather annoying. Sage couldn't imagine living without any magic, he had never known anything else, so the way muggles managed day by day was fairly fascinating. 

He remembered when he had told his uncle he wanted to take the class. Severus had told him that it was "extracurricular" and that if he was taking that class, he'd have to take two other "real" classes. Severus had almost told him the same thing about Care of Magical Creatures, but when Sage suggested Divination, Snape readily allowed him to take the other class as one of his obligatory two. Sage never had any intention of taking Divination, from what he had heard about the class, Sage had far more abilities in the Divination area than the old witch could ever hope to have. On top of that Sage did not even like Divination, he just happened to be stuck with his skills. His other class was Ancient Runes, another his uncle would have fought him about if he had not made the point that Severus hated Professor Vector and that Severus would be better able to teach him anything about Arithmancy he needed to know. 

A Slytherin girl sat next to him in their Muggle Studies class almost everyday, and she was fairly intelligent. She was a fourth year, who happened to drop Divination after taking it her third year, so she added Muggle Studies this year and was taking both the third and fourth year classes at one time. Snape had let him in on the secret that she was probably going to be a prefect her fifth year. Which was to say that his uncle did not think she was such a bad influence on him. They were just ending the topic of muggle communications and were talking about telephones. 

Much to his surprise, the telephone was quite an ingenius invention as was the cellular phone which he did not quite understand how it worked without magic. Afterall, it was not hooked up to anything. Hermione had told them the story about Ron calling Harry on the phone and not knowing how to use it. Everyone was in a fit of giggles afterwards. Sage rolled him eyes, Weasley really was a little thick.

The professor smiled after everyone was done laughing, "Well, on that note, we'll leave our discussion on communications and move into an introduction to what we'll be talking about for the next few weeks. This should be quite enjoyable for you all as we will be dealing with muggle entertainment. The topics we will cover will be television, motion picture, internet, video games, theater, dancing, and music."

A blonde girl in the front raised her hand.

"Yes?" the professor asked.

"Can we watch a real movie - I can bring one from home?"

The professor smiled, she was just the sort of witch you would imagine teaching Muggle Studies. "Of course dear, I was hoping one of our muggle-born students would be able to help us out with that." She turned to Hermione who was now also raising her hand with a very excited look on her face.

"Miss Granger?"

Hermione's smile was so large, Sage wondered if her face hurt to smile like that. "Can we hear real muggle music too?"

"Sure, if you'll provide us with some."

Her face looked so triumphant, Sage picked up on the fact that it was particularly out of place. "Certainly, I can arrange something," she answered enigmatically.

Class ended before any other students could make suggestions like going to see a real play in London or a real movie. Professor Snape would bust a nerve if Sage had to tell them that they were going into London.

The Slytherin girl he sat next to, Amanda something, the Slytherin quidditch keeper, walked out with him. 

"It amazes me the things that muggles do with their free time. Do you realize that many of them never read for pleasure?" She asked.

Sage shrugged, "It is really strange. I guess it is hard for us to imagine."

They chit-chatted for a few minutes before she split off from him to head toward the dungeons and the Slytherin dormitories. Hermione took the opportunity to come up to him. He looked down at her as they walked with what might have been a very slight smile. She grinned at him devilishly.

"Sage, I think you should play for our Muggle Studies class," she blurted out finally.

"What!" he said loudly in surprise. When he realized that everyone was now looking at them he kept his voice down. "Are you serious? No, I will not. Did you not catch the fact that I am not comfortable with everyone hearing me play. Or did you not think of the fact that Professor Snape would have my head on a platter if I advertised the fact that I play the guitar."

She patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind if it's for class."

"Hermione, no. Just, no. No way. And he would mind. A Snape in a Muggle Studies class is enough for him to swallow, a Snape playing the guitar in a Muggle Studies class is like expecting him to swallow his pride whole."

"Oh, you are over-reacting."

He gaped at her and then his face quickly shifted into a calculated glare.

"No, I am not."

She smiled and lifted her head up. "We'll see," she said as she walked away from him toward the library.


	12. Halloween and Sirius Black

Chapter 12

Halloween and Sirius Black

                 Halloween finally came around a few weeks later and the general excitement was pretty high. The first years couldn't wait for a feast full of sweet goodies and all kinds of candy. Sage was finally feeling as if he might just make it through his schooling at Hogwarts. The novelty of him being Snape's nephew had worn off for most people and the novelty of him being a Magi was beginning to wear thin as well. Thankfully, Hermione had not mentioned him playing for their Muggle Studies class again, but the suspicions were still in the back of his mind as they had not gotten to the chapter of muggle music quite yet. 

            Sage was sitting in the leather chair in his room trying to make sense of the scrolls from the leather case. There were a lot of different manuscripts in there and they seemed to just keep coming. Apparently the case had a spell on it to make it bottomless so it could hold more inside. He had given up on understanding exactly what the significance was of Ra and the Nag, and had started to read more about the life of Merlin. The prophecies, that he had seen earlier, had become unreadable after that first glance. Sage supposed that he was to read everything else first and then read the prophecies. 

_            I was born in the year of the lord 402, in a time of bitterness and strife. The world wrought between the light and that of the dark; the old ways dwindling, the new ways not yet strong enough, and of course darkness knew when it was best to strike. The Gods of old were being forgotten by men for the Christian God, which I must admit, it was easier for simple men to attend to only one God as their attention cannot handle the Gods of the old that were still worshipped by druids, wizards, and magical creatures alike. _

Men did not understand our capabilities and our kind became persecuted and feared. Druids and wizards alike chose this time as the time to make their way out of popular knowledge, out of the lives of mankind, and into a world that they would make their own. I see we will all be that of children's stories and fantasy in the future, because of this choice to leave mankind. I alone was left with the suffering of man and the desire to ensure their safety from the darkness. Around me I had few other witches and wizards, but they were great, and they were desended from Fawkes and the members of the great Order of the Pheonix who succeeded in defeating the Dark One, the plague of all time, Ra in the many hundreds of year before the coming of Christ. They were forgotten, as I was remembered, they were mere shadows to the eyes of all because I was the Magi, because I was Merlin. My powers dwarfed theirs, but even if history will not remember, they will live on in their great lines. Powerful families of wizards each of them will bear, families known to all the wizarding world. They each will contribute hundreds to the fight against darkness while I shall contribute only few, but a powerful few, a powerful few to lead them. 

Sage jolted up in the chair as someone knocked on his door. He hastily replied that it was open. When he turned to see whom it was, he saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione coming in looking like over eager 10 year old children.

"Sage, c'mon nearly everyone's left for the Great Hall already. The feast is going to start soon," Hermione said grabbing the sleeve of his robe to get him out of the chair.

Sage rolled his eyes at their excitement. He was not used to such juvenile displays as his uncle would have called them, but then again, he never really had much of a childhood. Juvenile behavior was definitely not something Severus Snape would have ever allowed. It's Halloween, what's so greatly exciting about Halloween? "A'right, I'm coming, I'm coming," he answered, giving in to her tugs.

"What's that then?" Harry said pointing at the scroll in Sage's lap. 

"Potions," he swiftly replied, putting the scroll back into the case and closing the latches. 

The reply was a little too swift for Harry, who was now suspicious of what it really was. Of course, being Harry, he supposed it was some kind of Dark Arts text. As they walked down the corridor to the Great Hall, Sage couldn't help but notice that he had a headache coming on. It was already making his head feel like it was pulsating. He figured that he ought not read in such dim light, but the did not want to read the scrolls where anyone could become suspicious of him. 

            The feast made the students all abnormally loud and Sage's head just kept throbbing worse and worse. He was in the middle of lifting a chuck of apple covered in caramel, when it suddenly hit him. He wasn't exactly sure what was happening to him, but it felt similar to the way he did right before he had a vision. The Fat Lady, his brain said to him. "The Fat Lady?" he said out loud.

            Harry and Ron looked at him suddenly with weird expressions of their face. Hermione poked an eyebrow up at him.

            "What's wrong?" She asked him.

            Sage shook his head, "I dunno, nothing I guess." He went to lift the apple back up to his mouth and it happened again. _Sirius Black is in the castle it said again._

            "Sirius Black?" he said confused at what was going on. 

            Hermione gasped, Harry and Ron jumped up, Fred and George dropped their wedges of chocolate, and Percy stared with his mouth open. 

            Suddenly Hermione jumped up and out of her seat and went running up to the head table yelling the whole way there, "Headmaster! Professor Snape! Something's happening to Sage!" Before Hermione had even said anything Snape was already barreling down the stairs from the table with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Lupin in tow. 

            Sage put a hand to his head and wondered if he was going crazy like his mother. _Sirius Black is in Hogwarts_ he heard inside of his head again. _What the hell is happening to me, what's going on? He started to get up out of his seat at the table and suddenly two hands grabbed him from behind to help him get up and turn around. Sage was turned straight into facing his uncle, the headmaster, his head of house, and the Dark Arts professor._

            "Sir, he said something about Sirius Black," Hermione said her voice shaking.

            "Black!" Snape exclaimed. "Sage?" He sent out a pointed glare.

            Sage, still holding his head, said, "I don't know what's going on, something in my head is telling me that Sirius Black is inside of Hogwarts."

            Half the Gryffindor table screamed and by now the whole school was standing at their tables looking over at him wondering what was going on.

            "Prescience," Dumbledore and Snape said at the same time. Then they stared at each other.

            "Prefects, please lead your houses back to their dormitories. Everybody stay calm and stay together." Dumbledore boomed.

            Sage looked at his uncle, "Sir, what's happening to me. I mean, what was that? Is Black really in the castle?"

            Snape swiftly answered, "Prescience, runs in the family, it's the ability to know what is going to happen right before it is going to happen or while it is happening somewhere else."

            The teachers were now all around Dumbledore looking to him for instructions.

            "It seems as if Mr. Snape has demonstrated prescience. He has said that Sirius Black might be in the castle. We need to formulate a plan of attack to locate him quickly if he really is here."

            Sage groaned softly, grabbed his head, and was close to falling over before he was caught by Snape. He could feel himself jerk a few times and a quick wave of pain came crashing over him before he saw it. Something he had seen before, but it was more cloudy then. The painting of the Fat Lady slashed apart. It was the clearest and most obvious vision he had ever had. The pain washed away as quickly as it came. He reached and arm out and grabbed Snape by the forearm and squeezed it hard, opening his eyes, he said, "Gryffindor, now, the Fat Lady. Sirius Black slashed the Fat Lady's portrait, he is trying to get into the common room."

            Lupin ran at break neck speed out of the hall and toward Gryffindor with McGonagall closely behind him. Four other professors took the hint and went running after them. Sage pulled himself up using his uncle's arms as support. "I'm fine. It wasn't long enough. I just need to sit down a minute and get my balance back. Go too." He gave his uncle 'the look' and Severus knew that he was being serious and that his nephew would be okay alone. "I'm not the one he is looking to kill," Sage said again forcefully. Nodding, Snape turned and grabbed Dumbledore by the arm on his way to the Gryffindor tower.

Sage leaned against the wall and let himself slip down onto the floor to sit down. He pulled his knees against him chest feeling quite useless, maybe he should have gone up to Gryffindor with the rest of them, maybe he could help. His head was still pulsing and he knew that it would be a few minutes before he could even think about moving or heading up as well. It felt think things just kept getting harder in one way and easier in others. New power just jumping up inside of him at such a moment? Why hadn't he ever experienced prescience before? Maybe he had but just never realised it. 

            Before he knew it students were flying back into the Great Hall as were all of the professors. He felt better when he realized that Harry was still alive and that Sirius Black apparently had not tried to attack them. Busy in his own thoughts he barely heard Dumbledore make the annoucement that everyone was to sleep in the hall and that the head boy and girl were to be in charge. He did not even manage to notice the professors staring at him talking quite animatedly.

            "Mr. Snape." No response.

            "Sage." No response.

            Finally, he jumped back into the situation when his uncle lightly whapped him on the side of the head. "Get up and get over here," he said offering Sage a hand up. 

            "What, sir?" he asked. His answer was that he was hushed and then glared at.

            Snape led him by the forearm into the circle of professors that were talking to the headmaster. His eyebrow automatically went up in question and then he stared at Professor Snape's face searching for some answers. Dumbledore stopped talking to the professors and looked at him with a slight smile.

            "Are you okay?" He asked.

            "Umm, yeah-yes. Yes," he finished quickly looking at his uncle and not wanting to get corrected for saying 'yeah'. One of Severus' biggest pet peeves. Snape sneered at him. 

            Dumbledore continued, while looking at Sage. "This is very serious, we must more very quickly. Black may yet be in the castle. If you do not want to you can say no, but I think it may be a good idea for you to go with one of us in case you see or hear something else that may help us find him."

            Sage looked around him. "Yes sir, I'll go with."

            "Good," Dumbledore said, squeezing his shoulder with approval. "Severus, you will take him with you and cover the dungeons."

            Snape nodded, tapped Sage on the shoulder and exited the Great Hall rapidly.Sage followed his uncle as fast as he could as they jogged down the hallways. He couldn't help but think that the dungeons were the last place a person would go to get out of the castle or hide. Afterall, Black had gone to Hogwarts, he probably would already be out of the castle. 

            "Keep up boy," Severus snapped over his shoulder. Sage redoubled his pace and ran up next to Snape. He could see the look of sheer anger and loathing in his uncle's face. Severus had told him all about Sirius Black and he knew that there was no person Severus would love to find and kill more. The man already had his wand out and poised.

            "Why Dumbledore insisted you come, I have no idea."

Snape sneered at him while he sat in the chair by the fire in the man's quarters. Dumbledore had insisted that his uncle keep a watch on him in case something else happened or he had another vision. Apparently, the older wizard thought that when you have a bout of prescience followed by a short vision you're in for trouble. The headmaster said that a person will continue to have prescience for certain things for a few hours or a few days after the occurrence of one case of it. Severus was not too happy.

            "You're sleeping on the couch this time," he yelled. His uncle threw down a pillow and a blanket at his feet with a snarl. Sage figured he must be pissed off that he didn't get to kill Black that night. They had never found him. "There is nothing wrong with you." He added, with a warning look not to challenge him.

            Sage crossed his arms too. "I didn't exactly ask for this either," he said bitterly. "You are not in the best of tempers tonight," he muttered.

            "What did you just say?" he asked venomously while moving himself directly in front of his nephew.

            "Nothing." He slouched in the chair.

            Snape loomed over him, "That's what I thought." He sat down on the couch at proceeded to brood over what had happened that night. _Damn Black! Sirius Fucking Black. Sirius Fucking Gryffindor Black. Wish I would have killed him while I was in school! He slammed his fist on the side of the couch. __What I wouldn't give to see him grovel. Arrogant, idiotic, Black. No fucking loyalties to anyone. He gritted his teeth unconsciously. __He got Lily killed. Black. _

            "Sir, what exactly is prescience?"

            The thoughts faded from his head. Severus looked at him like he had not even realized he was still there. "What?"

            "Prescience, sir, you said it runs in the family."

            Severus sighed. He'd have to torture Black in his mind later that night. In his anger, he had completely forgotten that the damn boy had never experienced prescience before. What a nuisance.

            "It is when you know what will happen before it happens. I already said that."

            "How come I didn't know I had it?"

            "Because it generally manifests itself in simpler ways. First it will seem as if you have really fast reflexes, that your body knows what will happen before it does. The actual knowing thoughts of what will occur come next."

            Sage uncrossed his arms and leaned forward putting his elbows on his knees. "It runs in the family?"

            "Yes," the older man answered simply.

            Sage was getting aggravated with the one word answers, "Well, do you have it, uncle?"

            "Ergh, do you have to ask so many damned questions?"

            The youth stared back at him unmoved.

            "Yes, if you must know, I do. So did your father, so did my father. Every male in the family," he answered shortly.

            "Is it common?"

            Severus looked at him like he had suddenly been covered in molten green sludge. "No, gods, sometimes I think you're a bit thick. That kind of magic does not just spring out of nowhere."

            "What does that mean though? That we all have it? Does anything else run in the family?" Sage was genuinely curious now and for some reason Snape just kept getting more annoyed. It just seemed so obvious to him that he did not understand Sage's ignorance.

            "You're a pureblood Sage, magical powers get passed down. Hence, the reason why some people think muggles and muggle-borns are inferior," he answered sarcastically.

            "Well, how come I am what I am?"

            Severus glared at him strongly, "Don't you think if we knew how your kind came about there would be a lot more of you?"

            Sage shrugged, "I guess."

            Severus sighed and tried to calm himself down, he was still on edge about Black. "The best guess we have is that you have brought together the blood of three very strong and very ancient wizarding families."

            He watched Sage look down and exhale. It was so difficult to talk to him sometimes. Then again Severus did not like to talk to people all that much to begin with. He'd much rather be alone with his own thoughts.

            "Sir, erm, do you have dreams too, like prophetic ones?"

            Snape smirked at him with a trace of acidity, "Good to know you take after the family. That is another one of those inherited abilities, all of the males, again, have had it."

            This seemed to thankfully quiet Sage a bit. He sat back into the chair and laid his head back onto it, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Severus watched him intently for a few minutes with a slight sneer. Sage continued to stare into the fire, unblinking, transfixed.


	13. A Revelation and an Offer

Chapter 13

A Revelation and an Offer

            The next day Sage was surprised to find that nobody was really making a big deal about him having prescience. Apparently, prescience did not seem like very much compared to the visions. Not even a close second place. At lunch, he sat with Ron and Hermione toward the middle of the table where there were only other students to their left side. Ron was mostly asking him for help with his Transfiguration essay and Hermione was smirking because she didn't have to help him for once. Harry, Fred, George, and Oliver were sitting at the other end of the table on the far right by the door to the hall talking animatedly. 

            "I have to get a good grade on this essay, because I can't do any of the practicals. With my essays, I'm done for."

            Sage glared at him. Hermione cracked up. "What?" Sage exclaimed now glaring at her.

            She giggled, "You look just like Professor Snape."

            He scowled in response. She giggled a bit more before finally looking back down at her own book.

            "You do, you know," Ron said.

            Harry nodded his head at Oliver Wood who had just finished talking. He tossed the orange he was holding up and then caught it, repeating the process a few times in deep thought. 

George poked him. "Can't hurt to see. Besides, the professors are all here, so it's not as if you'd get a curse thrown at you for it."

"Yeah, worst you'll get's detention," Fred put in. 

"A'right, here goes," Harry said. He pulled his arm back and launched the orange as hard and as fast as he could toward his target.

*          *          *

            "Quiet Weasley, or I won't help you with your homework," he snarled.

            Suddenly, he put his right hand up to the side of his head. He caught it. He looked at the orange in his hand. It had come barreling straight for him head from Harry. What the hell! He thought.

            At the head table Snape had jumped up, but Dumbledore was quick enough to ease him back down. But Sage, on the other hand, did jump up and looked pointedly at a gleeful Harry Potter.

            "What did you do that for," he questioned. Harry came running up to him and slapped him hard on the back.

            "That was wicked," he exclaimed. Then he sat down. "You couldn't have hardly even seem that coming from there."

            Sage looked at him poisonously and then sat back down to figure out what he was on about. "What are you playing at," he asked the green-eyed boy.

            "Really, I'm sorry I threw that at you, but I kinda knew you'd catch it, you know, just a hunch."

            His blue eyes bored holes into Harry's face and his voice was low, harsh, and calculated, "Bugger off, I'm not some kind of lab experiment Potter." 

            Harry did not seem to care about the glance or what Sage had said. He just kept smiling and nodding. "Just talking to me back in the dorms later, okay. I'll explain the entire thing." 

*          *          *

            Sage almost threw Harry into the common room after lunch to demand an explanation of his foolish behavior. Harry sat down in the chair by the fireplace with a grin and Sage stood by the mantle with his arms crossed. He couldn't figure out why Potter was still smiling. If he were Potter, he'd be scared, he was a lot bigger, smarter, and more powerful than the skinny boy. Ron, Hermione, and Oliver Wood all came up and sat down around the fire too eager to see what was going to happen. Sage greeted them with a glower. They were probably just there to make sure he didn't kill Harry.

            "Now what is this all about?" He questioned.

            Harry leaned forward excitedly, "You ever play quidditch?"

            "What?"

            "Quidditch. Have you ever played?" Harry grinned widely looking at Wood.

            "Potter, what does quidditch have to do with the damn orange you threw at me?"

            "Everything," Wood said suddenly. Sage narrowed his eyes at him and the older boy sat back in his chair and got quiet. Sage looked back to Harry.

            "Well, yah see, ummm, well, just tell me if you've ever played and I've explain everything."

            "I'll do the demanding here. I'm the one that got an orange thrown at me."

            Hermione suddenly spoke up, "Harry, he's lived with Snape his entire life. He hasn't been around enough people to play quidditch."

            Sage stared at her and then harumphed. "Pretty presumptuous on your part," he said to her.

            Harry was suddenly on the edge of his seat. "So you have played???"

            Wood grinned. Ron was perplexed. Sage crossed his arms. Hermione was gaping.

            "Of course I've played Potter. Not with a whole team, but I've played."

            "Are you any good?" Harry couldn't help but ask the question. 

            Sage's look could have sucked Harry's eyes right out of his sockets. Hermione's eyes opened wide as she looked at the two of them. Ron was asking Wood what was going on.

            "Any good? Am I any good. Obviously you don't know about-."

            A look of recognition suddenly came over Ron's face. "Gods, gods," he stammered, interrupting Sage. Everyone's eyes were now glued on Ron. "He's, he's… I should have remembered before…it's, it's…Gods…wicked."

            "Ron, what's wrong," Hermione asked patting him on the shoulder. Oliver thought that Ron had finally lost it.

            "Jace…Jace Snape…I'm such an idiot…He's your father?"

            Sage was looking at Ron like he was some kind of a freak, but he nodded as an answer to his question. Ron tore up the stairs calling for them to just wait for him a minute.

            Wood abruptly jumped up, "Jace Snape! Jace Snape is your father? He's related to Professor Snape? He's Snape's brother?"

            Sage gave Wood the same look and nodded again. "I never would have thought," Wood said to himself in shock.

            Ron came tearing back down the stairs with a huge binder in his hands, looking more excited than Hermione and Harry had ever seen him. Fred and George wandered over when they heard all the noise.

            "Ron, what's going on?" Harry asked him. "Oliver?"

            Ron was nearly jumping up and down. "Harry, guys, don't you see. His father is Jace Snape."

            Fred and George looked at each other in amazement, then to Sage, then to Ron. Wood was still in shock. Hermione and Harry were so confused because they had no idea what was going on.

            "Harry, Hermione. Jace Snape was a famous quidditch keeper. Really good, maybe the best ever-."

            "No, the best ever," Wood finally said coming out of shock. "Undoubtedly."

            "Anyways," Ron continued, "He was recruited right out of Hogwarts, never even played as a reserve. He played for the Cannons. Known for his clean games. Like, he was almost never scored against."

            "Never scored against Ron, not once after he left Hogwarts," Wood chipped in again and then he continued. "Brought England to the world cup for the first time in a century. The game lasted for 2 days before the snitch was finally caught. No one scored against him. We won 350 – 0. Three years in a row we won, three. Never happened before or since." Wood bowed his head.

            Harry stood in absolute awe. Hermione had never been silent for that long. Finally, they all stopped talking and looked at Sage. The anger had fallen off his face and was replaced by a look of distant sadness.

            "We would have won the fourth too if he hadn't died," Sage said quietly.

            Wood nodded and then looked at Hermione and Harry, "He died 5 days before the World Cup, they cancelled it and his funeral was on the day the Cup was to take place. They held a vigil on the pitch that night. The only time they ever cancelled the cup too. My dad told me all about it. There were thousands and thousands of people there."

            Ron opened the binder and began showing them his quidditch cards. He flipped to a page in the back and there were all 9 cards of Jace Snape. All the boys began admiring them. Hermione stared to but then noticed Sage kneed his hands before finally sitting down in a chair with his head down. He buried his hands in his hair and stared at the floor. Hermione walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. 

            "Sage, how did he die?" She asked. All the boys once again turned their attention back to Sage.

            Sage looked up blankly, "Voldemort."

            Everybody gasped. Harry whispered back silently, "Voldemort?"

            The minutes ticked by and nobody said anything or moved. Wood was the first to step forward.

            "We threw the orange at you today to test your reflexes to see if maybe prescience would make you a good quidditch player. But I don't need to see you play, I don't think any of us do, for me to offer you the position of keeper for next year after I leave."

            Sage looked up as if he had never thought of the idea of playing quidditch at Hogwarts. For the first time, everybody saw a real smile on his face. A smile that made up for the sadness in his eyes. Wood stuck out his hand and Sage stood up and shook it.

            "You can start practice with us whenever you want."

            Fred, George, and Harry all followed Wood and shook Sage's hand. 

            "I'll give you my copy of Which Broomstick in case you need to get a new broom," Harry said sincerely.

            Wood suddenly broke out in laughter, and Sage just quietly rolled his eyes and shook his head. 

            "What?" Harry asked, "Whad I say?"

            Sage, still shaking his head said, "I'll be right back."

            Wood was still laughing with all the others staring at him when Sage came back. Hermione was the first to notice that he was carrying that odd shaped hard leather case she had seen in his room that one night. 

            Wood composed himself. "Harry," he said, "Jace Snape was worth so much money because of quidditch that he bought the Nimbus Company about a year before he was killed. I'm sure Sage doesn't need a new broom."

            "Wow," said Ron and the twins at once. 

            Sage slung the case onto the table in front of them. They gathered around him while he opened it.

            "Wicked!" the Weasleys all said.

            "Prototype model, one of two that exists outside of the factory. Might be marketed in the next five years," Sage said.

            "Who has the other one?" Wood asked.

            Sage smirked and then it turned into an evil grin when he said, "My Uncle Severus, of course."


	14. Standoff of the Snapes

Chapter 14

Stand-off of the Snapes

It was Monday morning again and after Transfiguration everyone went into the Great Hall at 10:45 to chat and do some work before lunch. Most of the tables were half full already and would become completely full around 11:30 when the other students for out of class. Professor McGonagall had been tormenting Sage in class for weeks now, or at least that's what he thought. She just was making sure that he was not skating by, since he was far ahead of most of the class in what they were studying. She seemed to like to give him a different task from everybody else when they started practicing. This also meant that whenever the class was assigned homework or an essay, he was given a different topic to write on.

He was working on one such essay in the Great Hall that morning with Ron sitting next to him, looking over at what he was writing, and Hermione across from him. Harry had gone to ask Professor Lupin about some homework. Seamus, Dean, and Neville were also browsing their books from not too far away. 

"What's your essay about, mate?" asked Ron.

Sage looked at him quizically, he wasn't sure how he felt about being called 'mate'. "Tenth degree transfiguration."

"What is that?"

Sage rolled his eyes. Ron was not what you would call an academic and Sage was constantly surprised at the level of ignorance around him. Not that it was exactly their fault they didn't know, but it still surprised him. "Turning nothing into something, Ron. Like when Professor Snape conjures a stretcher to take Neville to the hospital wing."

"Wicked."

Unexpectedly the doors to the Great Hall flung open and slammed against the stone wall with a bang. Everyone turned to look at the gaping doors. Professor Snape strode in briskly with the glower of death on his face. Students jumped out of his way in fear for their life. Snape didn't even seem to notice them. Without a second thought or a look around the hall at all the students, he walked directly up to Sage, grabbed him by the arm and collar, and jerked him straight out of his seat. 

"Out, now," he hissed, pushing the boy towards the door.

Obediently, Sage started to the doors without looking back. He did not want to see the look on Severus' face because he was sure it was feverishly maniacal. Sage knew these kinds of tempers all too well and knew when it was best to just stay quiet and get yelled at.

Just as they exited the door, Professor Snape grabbed him by the upper arm tightly like he would try and make a run for it, and proceeded to drag him down to the dungeons. He marched him straight to his office and pushed him in.

"You are out of your senses!" he boomed "I cannot believe what I just heard!"

Sage stared down at the ground with a slight suspicion as to what this was about, but still utterly confused about why his uncle was so angry.

"Did you think you were going to hide it? Did you have any plan to ask my permission? Were you even going to tell me at least!" Severus was spraying him as he yelled straight down into his face. 

Sage cast one eye up quickly to assess his situation. Ohh yes, he was in trouble, the vein was popping out on his forehead, he was clenching his fists, and his eyes looked ready to jump out at him. 

"I had to overhear it in my own classroom from damned Oliver Wood! Not even from you! What were you thinking?" 

Sage gave no response. It just made Severus even more angry, he was beginning to lose his restraint completely. 

"Answer me! Don't just stand there like you're stupid!"

The boy shifted and again gave no response. He didn't know what to say and he didn't want to make it any worse. But, his lack of response had pushed Severus just a little too far. His cheek stung instantly, but it had been more of a warning than anything. 

"Answer me or by Merlin I swear I'll send you home."

Sage finally looked up and swallowed. "I don't know what you want me to say, sir."

"Why didn't you tell me, Sage?" he asked lowering his voice slightly.

"I didn't think you would mind, sir."

Severus crossed his arms, "WELL I DO MIND!"

"I thought you'd be happy," he answered quietly.

"HAPPY!"

There was a knock on the door. Snape scowled, glared at Sage, and then went to open the door. Standing there looking concerned was none other than the headmaster looking most reproachingly at the exasperated potion's master.

"Severus, Severus you do really need to keep more mind about frightening the students like that. Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger were quite concerned."

Snape huffed angrily, trying to compose himself a little more. "There is nothing to be concerned about headmaster. Those two should learn to mind their own business."

"Severus what could you possibly be angry about now, he's behaving himself and so far as I know he's making top marks in his classes. Giving Miss Granger quite a run for her money."

The growl that came from Severus was enough to make the headmaster take a step back from him. "I'm sorry you feel that way Severus. Now what is going on?"

"Quidditch, he's on the quidditch team. Taking over as keeper next year when Wood's gone." He stated angrily.

Dumbledore smiled and patted Sage on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Sage."

Sage nodded with a look of apprehension, eying his uncle warily.

Snape looked as if he wanted to pounce on Dumbledore and give him a good punch in the face. "He's not going to play!"

Dumbledore looked at him quite dumb-founded, "And why ever not?"

The man's lip curled before he answered. "I forbid it!"

"Come Severus, is this really fair. What are your reasons?"

He took a step towards the headmaster and hissed, "He has prescience, surely that advantage is best kept off the quidditch pitch."

Dumbledore laughed heartily, apparently unphased by the potion master's behavior. "Severus, he just started having it, that's ridiculous, it's not as if he really knows how to control it."

Severus was seething, his nostrils flared, his fists clenched so tight his arms were twitching. "It doesn't matter if it's conscious. He's got the reflexes."

Dumbledore continued as series of chortles as he said, "So, both you and your brother had it and that didn't keep either of you off the pitch. It's a wizarding game, not a muggle game, if you can't have wizard skills it would be no better than football. That's no reason for him not to play."

This made Snape open his mouth, and then pace a few steps, considering that he'd better say something a bit more appropriate. "I won't have it headmaster, I won't. What if he has a vision while he's 75 feet in the air."

"Your searching Severus, the game has risks for everyone. Anyone can fall of their broom, not just those with visions. Besides, when someone falls we slow them down before they hit the ground."

Sage took a few steps back and tried to take some deep breaths. It was kind of nice to have someone do his fighting for him.

"He already has problems managing his training and his studies, headmaster, there is no room for quidditch if he's expected to progress. He has problems focusing here now."

Severus had finally hit upon a valid reason. Dumbledore scratched his beard and then look at Sage.

"Well, I've heard what your uncle has to say about this, what do you have to say?"

Sage opened his mouth and then closed it. He looked at his uncle and wondered if he should even fight it, but he wanted to play so badly. It was one thing he could share with his father, one way of remembering him without thinking about his torturous death.

"Sir, I'm getting more adjusted all the time. You said yourself that I'm doing well in my classes, even though I am taking an extra one." He paused to see the headmaster's reaction.

"A good point, continue."

Severus snarled in the background. It was all to easy to hear his angry breaths.

"Well sir, I wouldn't even be playing this year, just practicing, and I wouldn't have to go to all the practices." He looked at his uncle. "I promise I'll study harder for our sessions and keep my focus better, sir, I really do." 

Severus growled as a response. 

"I said NO," his uncle finally said, as if daring the headmaster to contradict him.

Sage looked at the headmaster pleadingly, "Please sir, all my life I've done nothing but study. I've spent all my life with books. I've never had friends. I've never gone to school. And I've never even questioned it, I know I have to do all the studying, I know it was the way it had to be with not having friends, but now I'm here and it doesn't have to be that way anymore."

"I DON'T CARE!" Snape interrupted.

Dumbledore looked at him in complete reproach, "Severus, you had your turn let him speak."

But Sage had already been pushed a little too far and he felt safe from his uncle being that the headmaster was there and his temper began to flare. After all, he was as much a Snape as Severus was and bad tempers run in the family as much as prescience and whatever else.

"You don't care? I've done everything you have ever asked me to do, and now I want something for myself. Something you should be happy about, something my father would have been happy about. Do you think he wanted this for me? I don't even have my own life. Everybody expects me to just walk around like I'm an adult, but I never had a childhood, I could never be like Harry or Ron. Do you think I want this? Don't think I'm stupid." He looked pointedly at both the headmaster and at his uncle. "I know all this studying and training does not just have to do with my safety. He's coming back, we all know it, eventually He will. You both just want to use me because of what I am!" He made a move for the door like he was just going to walk out, but Severus grabbed him by his robes and shoved him back and straight into the wall.

"You are so fucking ungrateful! I'm your uncle, I don't want to use you. I don't want anything to happen to you!" He stopped yelling for a second before he continued bitterly, "I want you out of here! Do you understand me? You're going home. I can't handle your damn mouth anymore. I didn't ask for this either. I didn't teach you to behave like this. Unappreciative little…" he scowled curling his fingers farther around Sage's robes.

Sage realized he had gone way too far, way too far. Guilt came over him like a tidal wave crashing down upon his stomach. He looked into his uncle's angry eyes. The man didn't deserve what he had said to him. Sage knew he wasn't using him. Suddenly too hands broke them apart.

"Enough of this, both of you," the headmaster said pulling Severus off Sage. "Both of you are saying things you don't mean."

Both of the Snape's backed off and crossed their arms. Severus was staring at him, his lip curling, and Sage was just staring at the ground.

"You shouldn't talk to your uncle that way. You know very well nobody is using you." Dumbledore shook his finger at the boy and then put his hand on his hip looking like an aggravated parent.

"Yes, sir." He looked at Severus and sighed, "I'm sorry sir, I don't know what came over me. It's just, I want a chance to play."

Snape just stood there staring, not moving an inch. He wasn't ready to budge an inch about his decision either, or at least it appeared that way. His plan was to continue being stubborn until he got his way. He wouldn't let the headmaster get his way, afterall it was because of the headmaster that Harry Potter ran around like a wild animal. Now the headmaster was going to encourage his own nephew in the same direction and at the same time undermine Severus' supreme authority as the boy's uncle. It was not going to happen this time. Oh no, this was his territory, Sage was under his supervision and guidance. And after the boy yelled like that there was no way he was going to give in. If he did that, he'd be inviting Sage to give a temper tantrum every time he didn't get his way or if he didn't like his uncle's rules.

But then Dumbledore flung a reproachful finger at him, "And you, Severus, should know better than to bait him. He's just a child. You know very well there is no reason for him not to play quidditch other than you're afraid something will happen to him, plain and simple. You are behaving just as ridiculously and inappropriately."

But the potion's master still didn't move and was still staring daggers into his nephew, who looked indeed very sorry for showing his anger. Severus was beginning to damn Albus in his mind for derogating him in front of Sage, the nerve. How could he expect the boy to respect him after Dumbledore censures him like he's a student too. The old wizard was making it all too easy for Sage to become as disrespectful as Potter and Weasel. He snarled.

"Severus, you can stop glaring at him, he's sorry. You were the same way when you were that old. Same temper."

Now Snape turned his glare onto the headmaster, although a glare much less potent. Severus couldn't believe his ears, was the headmaster insinuating that he, he Severus Snape, had been a wild, tempered, and disrespectful student. Ha! Dumbledore knew that wasn't true.

The old wizard ignored it. He was thinking that Severus had shown him, the headmaster, the same temper when he was at school. He remembered Severus being in his office all too much and the many, many talks they had. Not that Severus was ever bad or a trouble-maker, he just always ended up doing the most damage after James Potter had provoked him. How else had the headmaster perfected the art of breaking through to a Snape or even talking to one in general. The headmaster chuckled to himself thinking of Sirius Black and James covered in green goo that had exuded from their skin after they tried to attack Severus. Two against one and they dared to complain about Snape gooing them. Even after Remus Lupin had joined their ranks, they couldn't get the best of Severus even with a surprise attack, well not until fifth year with the whole whomping willow incident.

The old wizard continued softly to Severus so that Sage couldn't hear, "He is much like Jace, I know he reminds you of him, and seeing him play will bring up bad feelings. This on top of the fact that he's the only family you have left. I understand the way you feel, but you cannot proceed to be so possessive of him. He is right. He has been deprived out of necessity. You're his uncle and you can give him this, you know Jace would want him to play Severus. The only thing Jace loved more than quidditch was his family." He touched the other professor's shoulder and added, "despite their vices."

Sage stared at the two men. Maybe it wasn't worth upsetting his uncle so much. Severus looked ready to blow up at a moment's notice. He sighed deeply and withdrew into his own thoughts while Dumbledore whispered something to Severus. He really wanted to play keeper like his father did and like his uncle did, but there were certain risks for him that others didn't have. As much as he might be a little angry about what he thought his fate was to be, he couldn't ignore the fact that his powers could prove quite useful in getting rid of Voldemort if it came to that. His life wasn't something to be reckless or careless about just because he was a Magi, the only hand wizard to speak of. He had heard his uncle say many times 'With great power comes great responsibility. You must not take anything lightly. You will be both of great power and of great service to others.' That meant something, to him. His uncle was just trying to protect that and he was beginning to understand Professor Snape's reservations about quidditch. He stared back up at the headmaster and at Severus. He took a few steps forward and broke himself into the conversation again.

"Sir?"

"What?" Snape barked impatiently. "Didn't anyone tell you not to interrupt. Oh, that's right, I did."

"I just wanted to say that I won't play if you don't want me to. I mean, I won't be happy about it, but I'll do it. I trust your judgement. I've done what you've wanted me to do this far."

There was silence. Severus still looked cold and the headmaster was looking at him in a prodding way.

"You should have trusted it from the beginning. You should not have kept this a secret from me." He spat.

Sage looked down and away. What was he supposed to say to that. Perhaps if he had gone to Severus first and given him the benefit of the doubt, he would have been willing to let him play. He shook his head, but he hadn't mistrusted his uncle in the first place, he hadn't gone to tell him because he didn't think it required such attention. 

"I was not keeping it a secret from you, I just made the improper assumption that it would be okay with you. I'm sorry, sir, I should have talked to you first."

Severus harumphed and crossed his arms, putting his hands into his long cuffs of his sleeves. He could feel the headmaster's eyes on him. He knew what Dumbledore was thinking. _He is giving in to you Severus, now is the time to give in to him. He is doing the right thing. He will be fine. Snape stared at the older wizard and could see in his eyes that his assumption about the contents of the man's thoughts were fairly accurate. He was giving him the 'go on' look. Severus shook his head negatively at him. The headmaster gave him the 'go on or I will go over your head' look. The younger professor scowled and then stared at his nephew. _Damn boy, damn quidditch, why couldn't he be happy just being at school. Letting him come here was a mistake. I should have expected as much. He'll just be distracted from his studies more. Especially being with the Gryffindors who, except for Granger, would much rather break rules, play quidditch, and play pranks than study. Not that I would want him in Slytherin, no, no, I have enough problems in Slytherin without worrying about them corrupting my nephew towards Voldemort. Gods that would be horrid, the Magi in Slytherin with all the Future Death Eaters Club. I should have just kept tutoring him at home, Hogwarts definitely will take its toll on his progress. Neither a focused nor controlled place. And now quidditch! So he can not study and break his neck in addition._ He scowled again at the end of this thought. __Why should I care if he breaks his neck! When did this happen to me, I can't even fool myself into believing that I don't care if he breaks his neck. Damn boy is ruining my evil, school demeanor. Gods, I already gave a few points to him, there is definitely something the matter with me._

Both Sage and Dumbledore could see the wheels turning in Severus' mind and weren't about to interrupt them. His facial expresssion would change with his thoughts, ranging from nods, to sneers, to lip curling, to huffing, and then to shaking his head in disbelief. The headmaster knew what was coming, but Sage was caught quite off guard.

"Fine, you can play. But… but if I see you digressing in any areas, in your training or studies, breaking any rules, or not behaving as you should, Merlin help me you will be so sorry I ever said yes."

Sage's eyes got really wide before they settled back down. Had he just heard what he thought he heard? His uncle had just said that he could play? His eyes flew to the headmaster who was smiling happily and patting Severus on the shoulder as if to tell him that he did the right thing. He settled his blue eyes then on his uncle who still had his arms crossed imperiously. His mouth dropped open momentarily as he realised that he hadn't just imagined what had just been said to him.

"I can play?" he asked, in shock.

"Yes, that is what I said."

Sage couldn't contain the smile that was pushing itself onto his face, but he tried, so it came out looking more like a half grin. In fact, he couldn't quite contain his happiness or surprise because he grabbed Dumbledore's hand and thanked him profusely. Then he turned toward his uncle, and before he had a conscious thought to stop him, he jumped forward, threw his arms around his uncle, said "thank you, sir!" and was already running out the door before Severus had a chance to figure out what had happened. 

The headmaster chuckled at Snape who stood frozen, his eyes wide with disbelief and shock, his face paler than it normally was. 

"Yes, Severus, I do belief your nephew just hugged you, much to all of our surprise," he chuckled more, "A whole 2 seconds of a hug. Actually, more just threw his arms around you, but for a Snape, I think that should count as a hug." He burst out into a more uncontrolled laughter. Severus still hadn't moved and didn't look like he was breathing. "Oh Severus, you can breathe, it wasn't that bad."

Snape finally opened his mouth, "What is this school doing to him?"

Dumbledore chuckled again and put his arm around Severus, who eyed it suspiciously as if it might attack him. "I think it is you trying to be a better uncle that is doing something to him."

"Look," Snape said gesturing out his open door, "He's already running wild around the school! I'm telling you, sir, I hope you pushed me toward the right decision, because if he turns into Potter, he's going home with you for the summer."


	15. Remus Lupin and Sage's Character

Chapter 15

Remus Lupin and Sage's Character

Remus Lupin was nearing the end of his lesson with the 3rd year students. They were doing quite well with the Kappas and were just writing some last minute notes down in their books. He reflected upon what they had discussed at the staff meeting the night before. Minerva had brought up the fact that Snape's nephew was having way too easy of a time with the class materials. She felt he wasn't being challenged enough and that it was impeding his learning. McGonagall felt that Severus couldn't be expected to train a powerful Magi all by himself and that all the other professors needed to do their part. The headmaster had agreed that they should all make Sage do wandless magic and what's more, do wandless magic purely with his mind. No gestures, no words, just thought. Minerva had raised a few good points in addition to that too, that he intended to act on as well. She had said that most of the topics that they covered in classes were things that Severus had gone through with the boy before.

The class started to put their things away and look up at him since it was just about time for class to be dismissed. He made eye contact with Snape's nephew, and was secretly surprised that the boy did not show any animosity towards him especially since Severus loathed him. Minerva had been right when she had said that Severus had taught the boy well. He was very intelligent, and unlike Hermione, was confident enough of himself that he didn't need to show it to the other students. Sage was always very quiet, but Lupin always knew that Sage knew the answers to the questions he was asking. Any professor knew that a student would look down and avoid eye contact when they did not know the answer, and Sage never, ever looked down or avoided eye contact. Like Severus, he had the sureness of himself.

"Okay class, good job today. I think ten points to both houses are in order. Read the next chapter for our next class and enjoy the rest of your afternoon."

The class began to get up when he added, "Mr. Snape, can I have a word with you."

Sage looked up at him and then took his bag off his shoulder and put it back down on the desk. When the students had left, both of them walked toward each other. Sage was appraising Lupin as if he was wondering what his intentions were. The professor smiled at him. 

"How are you liking it here?" the man asked to break the ice.

Sage let his eyebrow come up. He knew that there was something coming, but he didn't know what. The professor hadn't asked him to stay after to make sure he was adjusting well.

"Just fine, sir," he answered.

"We were all hoping that you would do well here."

Sage nodded. Lupin knew that he would have to do more and better if he expected the boy to talk. Afterall none of Severus' relatives could be conversationalists.

"How are you finding the class?"

"Fine," he answered robotically.

"I am slightly surprised that you are a pleasure to have in class. I would have thought that your uncle's animosity towards me would have rubbed off on you. You are, however, at the top of the class."

The boy frowned slightly and then shook his head negatively, "I am not in the habit of letting others make my judgements for me sir, especially when they are judgements based on long-standing grudges. If my uncle were not clouded by his anger, he would realize that you could have had nothing to do with what happened that night. Afterall, why would you want to be responsible for killing another student. Logically, it makes little sense."

Lupin smiled at his frankness. The boy was giving him a lecture, or something much like it. A lecture about being judgemental. "Then you know the story?"

"Of course, sir, I said I didn't let him make my judgements for me, I did not say that he did not try to make those judgements for me or at least persuade me to his side."

"Well, you act much older than you are. I would have thought someone your age would be quick to judge, they most often are. Which is why I was shunned when I was your age."

Sage shrugged, "You are a good teacher, sir, and I have no reason to judge you badly no matter what you are. I too am something most people are unsure of and I would be as feared as you in some circles."

It was Lupin's turn to nod in agreement. Many people still feared Magi because they were so infinitely powerful, even if Merlin was so wonderful, that kind of power was threatening for any one person to have. That power was what Lupin had wanted to talk to him about.

"I'm glad that you feel that way because I am going to ask you some things and I want you to be honest with me." He waited for Sage to nod before he continued. "Your uncle has taught you a lot about the Dark Arts and not solely just its defense, am I correct?"

Sage narrowed his gaze at the man wondering if he should be talking about this. How much did Lupin know about him that he was asking such a question? But ultimately he found himself having a tentative trust for Lupin. "He's taught me a lot of what he knows, sir. I have studied it myself as well. My uncle believes that you cannot expect to have a defense against something you do not know anything about. If you don't know what might get thrown at you, you will not be prepared to fight it."

"That is very wise, Sage, and a position I myself agree with. But those things cannot be universally taught because of what happens when it is in the wrong hands, which is why we stay away from it here. Although, I have a feeling that may change soon. Given your background, this class is a little remedial for you then?"

Again, Sage was unsure of how to answer, but he found himself gravitating towards honesty. "Yes sir, but none the less good practice and review."

Lupin knew that McGonagall had been right, the boy did know most of the curriculum and while it was good for him to be in class and review and practice it, he ultimately was gaining skill by not using his wand, but not gaining any knowledge. "Well, I am going to do something for you, Sage, to help you. I understand why it is important for you to have a good breadth of knowledge of Dark Arts. I know that Voldemort spared you because your mother said that you were a Magi and that she would raise you as a Malfoy and a Snape, but not as a Potter. If he should ever rise again, which is to my knowledge inevitable, he may seek you out because of the powers you have that you can give for him. While others may believe that Severus is a Death Eater, I know better, and I know that he is grooming you to be prepared to resist him or fight him should Voldemort come for you. I know that your entire family never had any intentions of you following them and that it was just to spare your life, but it makes it necessary for you to be prepared, correct."

The lean boy was staring at him blankly, with a trace of disbelieve on his slightly open lips, as if his mouth wanted to gape but he was preventing it. Sage did not know that Lupin knew this much about him and wondered how he had gotten that knowledge. Perhaps Dumbledore had told him, because his uncle surely had not. 

"Yes, I have been training for that since I was seven," he said finally, "Because if I was simply naïve and unprepared, I might turn into something I do not want to be, something that Voldemort would love to exploit. I do not want to help the man who killed my father kill more innocent people."

Lupin felt himself feeling sorry that Sage had such grown-up thoughts and responsibilities. Thoughts and responsibilities that were greater than those of Harry Potter. Harry was just a target, Sage could be a mechanism or a means for Voldemort. The thoughts were flying through his mind so fast that he could not deal with them all at once. All the things that the young boy had to worry about, think about, and deal with. Harry had the ability to push Voldemort into the background of his life, but Sage could not do that. Each day he spent in preparation for a day that would eventually come. Snape's young nephew had been shouldering a lot for a very long time.

"I am going to help you to get something more out of this class. You will attend the class so that you can review and practice, but I do not want you to do any of the assignments I give out to them. You are already acquainted with that material. Instead I want you to take this, go to the library, and find one thing each week that you do not know about and write on that instead. I trust you to seek out what you do not already know, because unless I ask Severus there will be no way for me to know that you have not already worked with what you choose. Perhaps I may even ask you to talk to the rest of the class about what you are working on. Is that agreeable to you?"

Lupin held out the paper in his hand to Sage. The boy eyed it suspiciously with his blue eyes before he accepted it. He quickly read it and looked up at Lupin. It was a pass that allowed him access to the Restricted Section whenever he wanted it. It would be more work but it would definitely help him more than writing a short piece on Kappas. The last thing Sage was worrying about was encountering a Kappa or a Grindylow. 

"It's agreeable to me, sir, thank you."

Apparently Professor McGonagall was rubbing off on all of his other professors. It seemed as if many of them had abandoned giving him the same class work as the other 3rd years and had begun handing him different projects and grading him on his ability to use his Focus to do wandless magic. He didn't really mind, because it did help him, but he was slightly sad that his classes wouldn't be so ridiculously easy anymore. He was especially enjoying the time he had to deal with the leather case the headmaster had given him and the old scrolls contained within. Perhaps he could come up with a reason to use the scrolls as an assignment for his History of Magic course, afterall the scrolls were historical. 

When he left Lupin, he thought about his uncle's feelings about the man. Perhaps if he had not gotten the DADA position and had taken another appointment, Severus would not hate him so much. But he did know that his uncle was suspicious of the man because of what had happened when they were both in school and Severus found out that Remus was a werewolf in a non-conventional way. Sage thought his uncle was being a little juvenile about the entire matter, but he would sooner play with a fully grown dragon that even hint at that fact with Severus. No he knew that his uncle would continue with the grudge until given a very good reason not to anymore. He was quite stubborn. Sage was convinced that Lupin was a good man and very intelligent, and he would be sure not to be judgemental about the man. Afterall, he knew what it felt like to be quickly judged by others who did not even know him and did not want the chance to know him. He was fairly immune to those things now and had hardened himself to them, but he remembered how the people at the ministry had looked at him when he was a small child. He had been brought there after his mother had committed suicide and those that knew he was a Magi looked at him as if he was some dangerous magical creature or some volatile solution that could blow at any minute. Sage had not been there long, they were very hasty about getting Lucius to take in his nephew and when that failed, they were quick to get the Snape side of his family to take him. Despite the fact that he was there for only a short time, he only remembered one person who had been nice to him and had treated him with care, treated him like a seven year old boy. The man had been the one who had come and picked him up at the house he was living in when his mother passed, a tall man, with red hair, whose name he could not remember.


	16. Remembering the Past

Chapter 16

Remembering the Past

                Sage sat staring into the fireplace in the common room. He could not sleep and his mind would not relax. As he sat there, he was drawn back into his thoughts, into his past. He began to remember what had happened when his mother had died. His mind brought his back to when he was told about what he was and why he was so different, and he had also had the first taste of what his life might be like…

                The room grew suddenly frigid as boy suddenly realized what had just happened. He did not cry and he really could not anyway, it just was not in his nature. Sitting on the floor, he hugged his knees to his chest and stared blankly at his mother. She was gone and he knew it, and at just about seven years old he was not at all surprised. He was not surprised because he had dealt with the pain of what was happening to her day after day. He could still hear the mumbling about the great fear she had for his future, about some Dark Lord, and about his dead father. She would talk to him sometimes as if he (his father) was still there with her, as if that night so long ago had never happened. His mother had been going mad since that night, since he could even remember. She had scarce talked to the boy about it, but he knew what had happened. He had seen it, as strange as that may seem. He had not seen it when it happened, but he did see it for the first time two years ago. Since then it had been haunting him. The visions would come to him at strange times and cause pain to radiate through his body; he would shake and convulse and scream, then it would be over. He would wake up and feel weak and his body would feel funny. The visions had started happening more frequently up until his mother's death, and each time he could not help but wish that there was someone there with him. The feeling was like being sucked out of his body to somewhere else, but still being able to feel the pain of daggers slicing in and pulling out of his body. That was why he did not cry. He was used to being alone, used to the pain, and used to feeling like there was something wrong or unusual about him.

            He pushed himself up and walked over to her bed. He narrowed his eyes. Her body was lying there as if she was asleep, but the green liquid that was coming out the corner of her mouth had given her away. It was a potion of death, he knew. His mother had told him that his Grandfather had owned a chain of Apothecaries, and that potion-making talent waws inherent on his father's side. Sage had seen his mother contemplating the book about poisions many times wondering when she would do it and how long she could hold off for his sake. Finally, the mental disease had gotten the best of her and she had used it. She had killed herself and left him alone. 

He felt her body tentatively with his hand and touched her hair with the other. It was so cold, so motionless and silent. He could feel the air stagnating around him. Sadness had indeed engulfed him like a cold blanket. His eyes couldn't blink. No parents, no dad, now no mum. She had not been much of a mother, no the madness of her mind had taken that away from him, but she was all that he had. She was the only person he regularly saw. Now who would he trust, who would care what happened to him, where would he go. He backed away from her and averted his eyes. There were letters on the bed in the large envelopes, sealed with a bluish wax. The ink jar was still open and the quill had stained a black spot onto the bed. He picked them up and read.

Mr Cornelius Fudge Minister of Magic

Care of Ministry of Magic,  London

Confidential and Private

Mr Lucius Malfoy 

Maliant Manor

1 Summit Point 

Surrey

Sage 

He looked curiously at this one and opened it.

_My dear son, there is so much I wish I could have done for you. I fear that the time has come for me to leave you to whatever path you must walk. The fear inside of me will not let me see what that path may be. It is time for you to become known, time for someone to give you the help that I cannot give, someone to tell you what you are, and to teach you to use what gifts lie inside of you. I leave this up to Mr Fudge to decide. I fear the only household you can be put in will only bring you toward the direction I hope for you to avoid. I can only hope that your rightful place will be found. Remember what you have seen Sage, remember what happened to your father, and what happened to you. I know you can see it Sage. I only wish I could have helped you when you were in pain. Now someone will be able to do that for you. The dark lord has been gone for many years and it is safe now for you to enter the world without my fear that he will take you away. You are destined for great things dear. Send these letters out and someone will come for you._

            The letter just stopped. No goodbye. He closed his eyes and opened them again right way. He was confused at what was happening to him. Was he going insane like his mother? He was seeing things, seeing things like his mother writing the letter and her tears of intense fear. Their dark owl flew down to him as if it knew that it was needed. It snatched the letters without so much as stopping and flew off again.

            Arthur Weasley sat nervously at the dinner table with his wife. The children had all clammered off. He wiped his forehead.

"What is it Arthur, dear?" She asked patting him on the shoulder.

"I have received some interesting news today from the minister. News that is most frightening but also most astounding. Sybein Malfoy has turned up, hasn't been seen since her husband's death. Seems as if, well, she is gone like Jace." He shook his head sadly.

"What's so frightening about that?"

"Well, their son, their son is Fred and George's age, maybe Ron's age and…"

"Ohh the poor dear, all alone." She said cutting him off.

"Listen, listen to me. She has written to the minister that she thinks he may be, ohh dear, might be a, well."

"Out with it Arthur! A what, how is a little boy so frightening that you're sweating."

The red-haired man wiped his forehead with his hand and stared at his wife. He took a deep breath and let it out. "She said that the boy is a hand wizard, a Magi."

            The stout woman stopped clearing the table and fell into one of the chairs. Her mouth hung wide open and a sudden look of concern came over her face.

"But, but Arthur, there has not been one for centuries, surely she could be wrong. They say that woman is mad."

"I am afraid it may be true. She is an educated woman, mad or not. His eyes glow at times. She says he has the visions. He's done plenty of magic already."

"But a Malfoy? What if, well what if he turns out like Lucius? A Snape as well, that cannot be any good either. With all those powers, there has not been a hand wizard to go bad since before, well for over two thousand years." There was fear in her eyes. The unknown

The man shook his head at her. "Fudge said that we'll look after that. But he is to go to the Malfoy's. Don't know where to quite put him otherwise. Snape is teaching at Hogwarts and hardly fit to look after the boy there."

"Well dear," Molly answered, gaining her senses, "Just being a Malfoy, or a Snape for that matter, does not mean that he will go bad. He's only a little boy afterall."

"Not at least that we need to worry about now. He is too young and has not been taught yet. But, it is quite a danger. He could be the end to you-know-who or he could be just the beginning."

            Straight in front of the door to the living room, he appeared wearing his customary black. His face was quite blank, even in the home of his family. Severus Snape had just found out that his nephew had turned up and that his sister-in-law had killed herself. He would have been happy five years ago if they had decided to stay, and maybe he would be a different man today. But during those five years Severus had changed, his heart had been wounded so many times that he was not aware it was even there anymore. Six years prior he had taken joy in his family, in his brother, his wife, and the little boy. When Jace had passed, he began to shut himself off, shut out his feelings, because they were too hard to bear. You could not have those feelings and be a spy, no, a spy had to harbor nothing. Now Severus did not want those feelings to reawaken, he did not want to have to deal with the implications of caring about someone. No, the death of Jace and then the death of Lily had taken that away from him. Just when he was beginning to get used to his solitude and emptiness, the boy turns up, and turns up a Magi. And for some reason or another he, Severus Ex Death Eater Snape, was chosen to teach him. What's more, his own mother had agreed to take in the child because she had felt Jace was as much her son as Severus was, even though Jace had been mothered by a Potter. He secretly wished the boy had never turned up. He was sure to cause Severus trouble in more ways than one.

            During these last years Severus had grown to loathe children all the more. Dumbledore had told him that the kids would grow on him as he taught at Hogwarts. He wondered what his young nephew would be like, probably just as ignorant, annoying, and disrespectful as the children at Hogwarts. Severus scowled, he was not looking forward to this. His train of thought was interrupted by his mother, who put a hand on his shoulder. 

            "It does me good to see you, Severus."

            He looked back at her and then turned around. She was beginning to look her age, he thought. Her dark black hair was still unspeckled by gray, but deep lines traced her face. 

            "Sorry I have not come here in awhile," he answered, his voice rather monotonous.

            She nodded, she knew how he felt about the house, about what had happened there. He had been staying at Hogwarts even over the summers. She had seen the change in her son and knew that only he could bring himself back. She understood his pain and understood how he shut himself of to it. She had done the same thing when her husband was killed by aurors almost ten years earlier. Secretly she hoped that the little boy would help him, help her son keep his humanity. Sage was perfectly like Jace, incredibly smart, very sharp, and very well-behaved. He was just of the demeanor that Severus would like to work with. He was, in many respects, a little adult. It seemed as if he had been seeing after himself for awhile, what with an ill mother and all.

            At that moment Severus turned back around toward the living room. He could tell by the look on his mother's face that they had company. His eyes met the gaze of a small boy with great blue eyes with long eyelashes and black hair. They locked eyes for a few moments. The boy did not look away.

            Severus' mother took a step forward and stood next to her son and said to the boy, "This is your uncle Severus."

            The boy stared at him as if he were appraising him and then he narrowed his eyes and asked succinctly, "Can you make them go away?"

            "Can I make _what_ go away?" he asked with sourness in his voice.

            With an eyebrow up in suspicious questioning, the boy answered, "The visions, the pain, sir."

            Severus remembered what he had been told about the boy. Not only was he a Magi, but he had already been having terribly painful visions. _Quite verbal for such a child _he thought. _He talks more proper than most of the first and second years. _

 "I cannot make them go away but I can lessen the pain," he answered, finally.

            The child seemed to look satisfied with this. His faced became more relaxed looking. The tension drained from the room. Severus narrowed his stare to make it more potent. He saw no change in the boy's demeanor. _He's not a coward either, perhaps there is a worthy brain in there, he is a Snape afterall._

            "There will be a day when you will be happy that I cannot make them go away," Severus stated, talking about the visions. 

            His nephew stepped forward and stretched out his hand to Severus. "Sage," he said, his blue eyes suddenly looking more open and at ease. 

            Severus shook the hand proffered to him but had no idea of what to make of the situation. Normally children were naturally petrified of him and it was very obvious that his nephew was not. It seemed to him as if the boy was sizing up his merits, or wondering how good of a tutor he would be. As if the kid had a choice.

            "Well I'll leave you two so you can get started. Severus, why don't you use the library, he's been in there all day," the older woman said.

            The young professor nodded and glared down at the boy for a minute. The boy was staring at him as well. _He's already been in the library all day? _

            Severus started walking to the library and said as he went, "Are you going to stare at me rudely all day or are we going to get started?"

            Sage sat cross-legged in an armchair across a small table from Severus. They were in a large two-story room which was wall to wall books. It was dimly lit by where ]the two were sitting. Severus felt a little more comfortable in this room, he still did not like the living room. When he was in there, he could not prevent his mind from giving him flashbacks of his brother.

            "Now, I have been given the task of teaching you and it is not a task that I will take lightly, and I will not tolerate you taking it lightly either. This is not play time, magic is not fun and games, it is serious and you will treat it as such. Understood?"

            Sage nodded, "Yeah."

            Severus cringed, "Lesson number one. 'Yeah' is not a word and I don't want to here it EVER."

            Severus caught him rolling his eyes as he nodded that he understood. He sat forward immediately, leaned across the table, and crossed his arms on it. His face 6 inched away from Sage, he said, "Do not roll your eyes at me, or anything else equally improper. I'll warn you now but next time you will not like the result."

            His nephew's eyes got really wide. He had smartly believed the threat.

            "Don't just sit there, answer me."

            Sage stared at him and then looked down. "Sorry, sir." 

            A distinct growling noise came from the man before he continued, "Fine then, I have some rules to lay out and you are not to question any of them or disregard any of them. If I give you work to do, I expect you to do it and have it done when I tell you to. You are not to do any magic when you are with somebody other than me. You can only do it when you are by yourself for practice or with me. This is very important because you have little control over your powers and you could hurt someone. I expect you to work very hard everyday. It is very important that I get you to a point where you can manage your powers." Severus stopped and stared at the boy. Sage appeared to be paying close attention.

            "I understand, sir, I'm listening." 

            "We are going to start simple and then build up. I'll have you learn things with a wand first, then without, and then with your mind. We probably will not get to that last part for awhile."

            The boy squirmed and Severus stopped, "Sir, I don't have a wand."

            The professor shook his head negatively, "I expected as much. Ollivanders wouldn't sell to you because you aren't of age yet and even with a note from the ministry it would be a hassel, so I brought one for you to use for now. I'll take you to get one more suited for you when you are older." Severus fished around inside his robes and pulled out a deep burgundy colored wand and handed it over the table to Sage. The boy stared at it a moment before he accepted it. His eyebrows jumped up as he touched it and he looked up at his uncle.

            "It tingles," Sage stated.

            Severus shook his head as if he wasn't surprised in the least. "A wand is only a tool which focuses your power, given that, when you hold it your powers will make a connection to it and that's why it tingles. Most people do not feel that connection with their wand because their powers aren't strong enough to cause a reaction. It is good sign for you, I would expect a Magi to feel it."

            "A what?"

            Severus' mind stopped for a second as he stared in disbelief, but none of it showing on his face of course. The boy did not even know, nobody had ever told him what he was, that he was different, that he was a Magi. How could that have happened. The boy was seven years old, he should have been told.

            "You do not know what you are," he stated blandly in disbelief. _He does not know what he is?!?_

            Sage looked genuinely perplexed, his brow was furrowed, he was blinking a lot, "Know what I am, sir? What I am?" He stammered.

            Severus exhaled, "Do you know what a hand wizard is Sage, a Magi?"

            The man could tell by the look on the boy's face that he did not know. "I cannot believe that no one ever told you what you are," he said more to himself than to the boy.

            "My mom told me that I could do special magic, and that I'd understand when I was older." He smiled slightly, confused about why the man had suddenly looked darker. 

            Severus growled again. Why was it his job to tell the boy? It definitely should have been done already. His mother should have told him.

            "That is what you are, Sage, a Magi. Magi are a special kind of wizard that have very powerful magic within them, a power that no other wizard came hope to attain by either skill or practice. A Magi is born with innate magical ability, a magical ability that is rumored to have no limitations. Your powers will be expressed faster and you will be able to achieve things that most wizards never will be able to achieve and you will be able to achieve them at a young age. Magic normally grows within the wizard as he learns, in very small stages, and each wizard has limitations on how advanced his magic can be. Your power will not grow with you, in theory, it is already infinite, the only thing that will grow is your awareness of it and your ability to use it. Until your awareness of it and your ability to use it are of the level of the powers inside of you, you will probably not be able to handle the powers, the magic. In effect, it could do a number of different things to you. It could make you tired, or sick. Your body is too young for the powers inside you. Your visions are so painful in part because of this." Severus leaned forward a little and stared into Sage's eyes trying to read what he was thinking or feeling. He could tell nothing. The boy's face was so blank and his eyes were glazed in a fashion that made it seem like he was somewhere else. Severus knew that look, that feeling, the boy was lost in his own thoughts. He had just been told something that was perhaps to difficult for him to grasp.

            "Do not worry about all of that now." Severus said to bring the boy out of his own world. "We have other things we need to attend to right now. We will talk about this much more. The older you get, the more you will understand about what you are."

            "Okay." 

            Severus took a deep breath and caught Sage's eyes with his own. "The first thing that you will need to work on is concentration, but a kind of concentration that can block anything out other than what needs to be dealt with. Wizards call this Focus. Focusing enough to do simple spells will be easy. I would expect you to be able to do simple spells without a wand right away." Severus took out his own wand and conjured a candle between them. "Now there are two ways you could light this candle. The most simple would be to say incendio, which is a spell that makes fire, and make sure that you are pointing your wand at the candle or focusing on the candle if you are doing this wandless. The more difficult would be lumos, which makes light, and if you do not focus enough on what you want to light, your wand will make light and you will not light the candle. Now I want you to try it."

            Sage looked at him hesitantly and then stared at the candle. He pointed the wand at the candle and said, "Incendio." The candle lit. Severus put it out again without moving.

            "Now try it without the wand."

            The boy stared at him and said, "Are you sure, sir?"

            Severus put his hands flat down on the table and sneered, "Don't question me, just do as I say. I wouldn't have you do it if I didn't think it wise."

            Sage looked at the candle with uncertainty, "So, I'm supposed to do this with hand movement or something. How do I know what to do."

            Severus glared at him and said, "Every wizard is different, you will just have to try until you get it right. I would suggest starting out with your finger by the wick so that you don't miss."

            The boy pursed his lips together and put his hand out towards the candle. He pointed one finger at it, but that did not feel right. So he put his thumb on one side and his index finger on the other side of the wick and said the incantation again. It lit but it almost burned his thumb. Again, Severus put it out. 

            "Good. Try it from farther away."

            They spent the rest of the night lighting and putting out the candle and started on levitating objects. The young and stoic professor was fairly amazed at the boy's capabilities. He hadn't set anything on fire using incendio even when he lit the candle from across the room, and he had not even expected Sage to be able to focus enough to light it from that far away. In many ways his nephew was much easier to teach than the first years at Hogwarts, he definitely was not as much of a dunderhead as they all were. 

            Sage was beginning to look worn out, which Severus knew would happen because magic, especially wandless magic, was too powerful for such a young person. He knew that his nephew would battle with that problem for a long time. Severus got up and picked a few select books from the shelves around them and placed them on the table in front of Sage. 

            "I want you to practice the charms in the first two chapters of this book. They are all as easy as what we did tonight, you should be able to do them by tomorrow. Also, look over the first chapter of this Transfiguration book because we may start on that soon as well. I'll need to get you a book that goes over Latin because I think you will find it useful if you know what all the incantations mean."

            "I have one of those already, uncle." He said pulling a book out from  beside him. It was big, old, and well-used. Severus took it and looked it over, even opened it up to appraise its contents.

            "Where did you get this, this is not from our library?"

            Sage shrugged, "An owl brought it for me when I came here. The note was signed by an Albus Dumbledore," he answered nearly fumbling over the name.

            The man's eyebrow came up. It was very typical of Dumbledore. A least he had chosen to send the young Magi something useful and not an assortment of muggle candy. Knowing Latin made it a lot easier to learn any kind of magic because most of the incantations for charms work and transfiguration work were in Latin. You could also make your own incantations out of knowing Latin once you were skilled enough. Merlin was known for his novel incantations and knowledge of Latin. 

            Sage intruded upon his thoughts when he asked, "Who is he?"

            Severus blinked out of his own thoughts and then stared at his nephew. He was definitely not used to being asked questions. It would be something he would have to get used to. "I'm a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster of the school. Someday you will go there, once you learn more focus and control. He is one of the greatest wizards alive, Dumbledore, and he knew what you would need to start learning. You can start to read through that book as well."

            Sage took the book back from Severus and nodded. He did not seem to be phased by all the work Severus had just asked him to do. Severus had seen seventh year students whine about that kind of work. 

            "Do you think you can manage that," he asked, seeing if it would illicit some complaining.

            "Yes sir, easily enough," he answered almost giving a slight smile.

            Severus stood up and Sage followed by uncrossing his legs and standing up as well. He stared up at Severus with his big blue eyes seeming very alive but his facial expression completely blank. Severus narrowed his eyes at him and then pursed his lips a little bit. His nephew was not what he had expected. He did not know whether to be happy that he wasn't wild and childish or whether to be happy that he was not. Severus vaguely remembered chasing his own older brother around the house throwing fairly harmless curses at each other when he was seven. It seemed to him that Sage was passed that or had never been in that stage. It made his job much easier, but was also slightly disheartening. Severus did not dwell on it much, he was pleased that Sage was so advanced for his years. The boy also had some very promising potential.

            "I shall return around the same time tomorrow night and most nights thereafter. I hope you do not disappoint me."


	17. Back to Reality

Chapter 17

Back to Reality

            Sage's finally came back into the reality of the common room. His eyes left the flickering flames of the fireplace that had entranced him and brought him back into memories of the past. It seemed like not long ago he first met his uncle, and he had come so far. He had learned a good ten years worth of magic in five or six years and he was not supposed to be using his wand anymore. It still seemed as if he had so far to go to get where he needed to be. His body was still so vulnerable. On some days when he worked really hard on the practical things and actually did a lot of magic, his body screamed out at him by the end of the day. While he might be coming closer to being able to control what was in him, he felt so far away. He knew that he would eventually need to control the visions and also to manage to not be afflicted by the pain of them, but that did not seem to be happening. It also seemed that there was very little help anyone could give him to figure out how to get to that point. He felt stuck behind a huge barrier that not even he knew how to get over. There were many times when his uncle had told him that he would need to figure some things out for himself, because magical powers are so different in each person and he was an especially singular case. They could teach him how to use the powers and focus them, but not to harness them, control them fully, or overcome them. It was a force that was alive within him, that did not seem to be wholly a part of him yet. Each day he felt closer, but every night he felt like he was no better, no different.

            It was three in the morning. He walked back up to his room, up to his dresser, and picked up one of the bottles. Sage really needed a night of dreamless sleep. He took a sip from the bottle and passed out on top of his bed. He never really felt secure with his powers, never really felt safe from what was tormenting him, and never really felt like he was strong enough to handle it all. In sleep he did not need to think about it, and in the morning he would try harder to understand it all.

            Sage was in the crowds watching the first quidditch match of the season, Hufflepuff against Gryffindor. He was inches off his seat as Harry and Diggory careened towards the golden snitch. Then he felt it, like a sharp blow to the stomach and a wave of icy coldness. _There was a loud screeching somewhere in the recesses of his brain, woman screaming, his mother. He heard his father say something about his family and being safe. Then he heard that voice no more. There was a strange laugh, a laugh that was only familiar to him because of his visions. His heart pounded in his chest as his surroundings completely left his consciousness. All he heard was the voice of the man that had killed his father and taken everything away from him, Voldemort. _

_"Where is the child?"_

_"No, don't you touch him! He's just a baby. Please!"_

_Then it seemed as if time zipped forward and he heard more._

_"What are you doing to him? Don't hurt him? He's a Snape, my lord. I told you he's a Magi, how could you kill him? He, he could help you." His mother's voice had faltered in a way that made it obvious to him that she was lying, afterall that had always been her worst fear. That her son would be used for evil._

_"I would have killed him already, I am not going to kill him, woman." The voice hissed. He heard himself scream and wail as only a two year old could._

_"You're scaring him. He's not safe like that." _

_"Scaring him! Ha, I'll show you scaring him. Do you think I am foolish enough to believe that a 2 year old is a Magi? If he needs to be frightened to show the trait then frightened he shall be"! The voice had barely held the curse for two seconds before it happened, Sage knew that he had shown the sign Voldemort wanted, his eyes had taken on an ethereal look and he had unknowingly burned the Dark Lord's hands. He had seen it in a vision. But the barely human man laughed, he was pleased. Sage could see in his mind what had played out in his visions many, many times before. He saw the man in black take him up in his arms again. _

_"Nooooooooo!" His mother shrieked in absolute horror and fury. _

_But her cries did no good. There would be no stopping Voldemort that night. The voices faded as his sight went more black._ His head was swimming and the last thing he could make out before he passed out was that hundreds of dementors storming the quidditch field. 

When he woke up, he felt as if he had just been spun around one hundred times while he was drunk. He couldn't see too well and his body felt nearly disconnected from his mind. The only thing he could make out right away was the presence of his uncle looming over him, arms crossed. Afterall, that had to be what the big black blob was next to him, he had been in similar situations to this, and it was a very educated guess. 

"S'everthin okay?" he asked. When he heard his own words, he was quite surprised at how out of it he sounded.

"You'll be fine."

His head floated. "Nodme." He said, again jumping at his own incoherence.

"Oh just stop talking, you sound like a blithering idiot! Wait until you come out of it. And, yes, everything else and everyone else is fine."

Belatedly, his head throbbed at the way his uncle raised his voice in frustration.

"B'ack?"

Severus grinded his teeth and growled, "Black? No, he's still wandering around."

Sage was beginning to feel better. He could make out Snape's perturbed look and see the anger flaring through his eyes. When he looked around him, he could make out a crowd of people in Gryffindor colors across the room a bit. They were huddled nervously around something. 

"Potter?"

"Yes, perfect Potter. Lost the snitch this time. He'll live, his pride may not."

The boy didn't answer him however. He did not really want his uncle to know that he was concerned too much about Harry. Though his uncle definitely did not hate Harry, he did hate the side of Harry that was like James. Unfortunately, quidditch Harry reminded his uncle too much of the elder Potter. Sage thought Harry was all right, incredibly childish and sometimes annoying, but all right none the less. Most of the students at Hogwarts fit the childish and annoying category to him, maybe that's because he never had a chance to be childish or annoying. His head hurt, he stopped thinking so much.

Professor Snape put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Can you walk? It was not my choice to bring you here. I believe it was Granger's and Weasley's. Good thing I got here before Poppy decided to do anything with you."

Sage stared at him sleepily, blinked twice, and said, "I think so, sir."

"Well then get up and let's go. I'll get you something to eat and some tea and you'll be fine. She'd want to keep you here all day."

*          *          * 

His uncle already had the fire going in his living room by the time they arrived, and Sage had no delusions that it was purely for his own benefit. His uncle did not like to have a pipeline to the entire school, but he had to keep his fire going slightly more often in case someone needed to get him quickly when Sage had a vision. Severus still didn't like having his privacy invaded. 

Sage flopped down onto the couch cross-legged, a habit of his that had carried over from his younger years, and stared into the fire. He was tired, and cold, and incapable of any sort of complex thought. His mind began to replay the screams before Severus interrupted him by throwing a huge chocolate bar at him. It hit him in the side of the head.

"Eat that," he ordered.

"Ugh, you know I don't care for chocolate, uncle, especially not this much. I'll be sick!"

Severus crossed his arms and then sneered at him, "You are already sick. Besides I didn't give it to you for enjoyment, dear nephew, I gave it to you because it's a quick cure for dementor sickness. Just EAT it."

Sage's eyes opened as wide as they could given they they were trying to fight him into letting them shut. "Chocolate," he said dejectedly.

His uncle decided it was time to stalk over to him and repeat the sneer he had just given. "Did you not hear what I just said!"

Sage scowled, "Yes sir, I heard you." He unwrapped the bar and stared at it in vile disgust. He watched as Severus walked away mumbling, "You would think it was as foul as Polyjuice or Wolfsbane Potion."

Sage screwed up his face at the bar of chocolate which was easily almost as big as his head and tentatively took a bite. It wasn't that he minded chocolate inside of things or even chocolate cake, he just did not like the taste of plain chocolate. Its richness made him nauseated. He put the bar down, glanced back to make sure his uncle wasn't still hawking him, and conjured a big goblet. He picked up the chocolate bar and held it over the goblet. Just as he wanted, the chocolate began to melt and drip into the cup. The look on his face was priceless, like he had just seen a dead and decaying mountain troll.

"What the hell are you doing?" Came suddenly from behind him as the professor brought over a teapot.

Sage looked at him sheepishly as the final drop of chocolate melted. "I'm melting it so that I can just chug it. That way I don't have to taste as much of it. I'm still ingesting it, uncle."

The older man growled and said, "I don't care how you take it in as long as you take it now."

The boy picked up the goblet which was now full of chocolate sauce and eyed him. He pinched his nose as if he as drinking the most vile thing imagineble and gulped it down as fast as he could.

A strange feeling overcame him. His thoughts were clearer, he was warmer, and his head wasn't swimming anymore, but it was replaced by a very angry stomach.

"I'm gonna be sick!" He exclaimed putting his hand over his mouth. 

Before he had a chance to run to the bathroom his uncle yelled, "You had damn well better not!" He pushed Sage's shoulder down and forced Sage to sit back down. He thrust a sandwich in front of Sage. "Eat that, hopefully it'll drown out the chocolate."

Sage took the sandwich tentatively and holding his stomach took a few bites. By the time he was halfway done, he definitely felt better. 

Severus ran his hand through his hair before he started to eat his own sandwich. "Gods, I get stuck with the only fourteen year old boy in this plane of existence that doesn't like chocolate." Then he added to himself _Sometimes I am surprised at the patience I am able to muster in order to deal this! Merlin how I wanted to just shove it down his throat!_ Finally, he sat down on the lounge chair next to the sofa and ate in silence.

"Sir, the dementors suck the happiness out of you right?" Sage asked him between mouthfuls, breaking the silence.

"Yes, what of it?"

The boy swallowed again and took a deep breath, "Well when they came, I started to feel sick, and then my head felt really light and I started to hear things."

"What things," Severus asked him suspiciously.

"I could hear my mom screech, and I heard, I heard my dad, and Voldemort. The night that he died. I heard everything like I was there." Sage said, his voice surprisingly resilient given what he was talking about.

"You were there."

Sage stared at him curiously, "But I don't remember any of that, sir, I only remember what I have seen in my visions. I was only two."

"Yes, but you were still there. Your mind still has that information. When the dementors come, we often relive our most horrible experiences. The more horrid, the worse the reaction to the dementors." Snape answered matter-of-factly.

"So, because I have been through so many, er, devastating things, the dementors affect me more than most?"

"Yes, you have a very trying past."

"But, how did you, how did you deal with that, uncle? How could you…live?" Sage's voice wavered this time with apprehension, fear, and concern.

Snape narrowed his eyes at the boy and gritted his teeth together. "That is not something I care to discuss."

Normally Sage would not have countered this obvious 'end of story' statement by Severus, but for some reason he did.

"But you were there, sir, you, you." He stuttered.

"Enough," Snape growled cutting him off. 

His blue eyes looked down. There were a lot of things he was never told. "Uncle, how come you never tell me anything about yourself? Why do you not tell me these things?" What he said was very brave and he knew that his uncle's reaction would be severe. 

"Why not! For your own damned good, why not! Because they are things you do not need to know, need to hear. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW, SAGE, DO YOU?" He yelled standing up with aggravated fury. His arms flailed around wildly to accentuate what he was saying.

Sage pressed himself back against the couch, wide-eyed. He had gone this far why not finish it out. Show some Gryffindor courage. "Yes," he managed to answer, meekly.

"Because I killed people, Sage, lots of people. Innocent people and guilty people. People who had wives and children, people like your father. Even though I didn't like it, and I didn't want to. I had to. I didn't have a choice. I did it for Him. And I saw children, babies, who had horrible things done to them. Even the Cruciatus. I did things that allowed Him to gain power, and He loved me for it and I fell for it at first. It wasn't until he killed your father that I fully realized He didn't give a crap about me, didn't give a crap about the sanctity of life. I've done such horrible things in a few years of my life when I was a stupid, young, boy that I can barely dream to repair the damage I've done. And how did I deal with it, the dementors, Azkaban? HOW DO YOU THINK? I SAW EVERYTHING OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I was unconscious so much, I had no idea how much time had gone by. I could see the dead body of my own brother laying on the floor of our living room, EVERYDAY, FOR HOURS! I saw the bodies of the aurors who killed my father, who I killed in return, and I saw the faces of their children. I had visions of all the things my mind could conceive about what Voldemort did TO YOU! Because I didn't know what had happened, I didn't know until you told me. SO MY MIND INVENTED IT! IT WAS THE WORST THREE MONTHS OF MY LIFE! I WANTED TO DIE!

"Then I get out and SURPRISE I do not feel much better. I apparate instantaneously to Voldemort to begin my spying. Oh yes, a loyal Death Eater who had gone to Azkaban for him. I was praised and I wanted nothing more than to spit on Him. I had to go back to the thing that haunted my mind for MONTHS. I had to pretend to serve Him. As if Azkaban wasn't enough. But I did it anyway because it was right, no matter how hard it hurt, no matter how sick it made me, and I wanted to do it. I did it because I didn't want any more innocent people to die, I didn't want any more children to lose their fathers and mothers like you did. I didn't want anyone to ever feel what I had to feel when I came home to the Dark Mark over my own HOUSE."

He stopped yelling, his face was as colored as it could get. He stared at his nephew, who was speechless and pressed halfway into the couch, his mouth wide open.

"NOW IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO KNOW? Do you know enough about me now? Or was that too much for you? I'm sure this has helped you feel closer to your dear uncle," he spat.

Sage cowered. He closed his mouth and then opened it. He took a deep breath in through his nose and said quietly. "I don't think you're a bad person, Uncle Severus, no matter what you did before. You turned back."

"How fucking noble of you. Too bad others don't feel the same." Snape was twitching he was so keyed up.

"Who cares, they aren't the people who matter. A lot more people would be dead if it weren't for you. Longbottom."

"A lot of good I did for his parents." He growled.

"You did what you could, sir, and a lot of Death Eaters got sent to Azkaban because of you."

The professor finally sat down on the chair again and huffed with anger. He crossed his arms across his chest and glared at Sage. 

"I heard something today about when, when my father died that I never saw in  my visions. He, er, Voldemort well, when he first picked me up, he, um, cursed me and I burned his hands and he knew that I was a Magi."

Now Snape looked up at him, his eyes wide with renewed fury, "He cursed you. What curse?"

Sage swallowed hard and answered softly, "The Cruciatus."

The older wizard didn't speak but he was seething with anger. His lips were pressed so tightly together that you could hardly see them and his head was shaking with hatred.

"As if the other wasn't enough," Severus finally said before closing his eyes.

Sage felt so badly. He wouldn't have asked the question if he had known it would upset his uncle this much and bring up so many bad emotions for the both of them. Next time he wouldn't question his uncle's silence. But he was strangely happy that he had because he felt that he needed to know. It made him feel safer, safer from Voldemort. Sage got up off the couch and sat on the table that was between the two chairs and the couch. This way he could say what he wanted to say face to face with his uncle.


	18. Like His Father

Chapter 18

Like His Father

"You know, uncle, it doesn't matter to me what you did, only what you are. You are the only thing keeping me from that same path. I'm afraid that one day he will come for me because of what I am and all I have is myself and you to keep me from it. All I have to protect myself is what you taught me. Anything I have, even my skills as a Magi, are all because of you. Everyday I wonder if someday my power will corrupt me in such a way that I will willingly go over, that I'll no longer know what is right. I fear the blood that is inside me that made me what I am. He knows what I am, and He is going to come back, and since I was a kid you've said to me 'what he wouldn't love to do with a Magi'. If I want to fight that, what better person to teach me than someone who knows, someone who has been one of them, someone who can tell me what I need to be prepared for. If you hadn't done those things, where would we be? Nowhere better than now. Even through your wrong, you have helped this side save more lives that could have been saved without you. The gain is far more than the loss. You once told me that everything becomes clear to us only after time. Beyond that I think everything happens for a reason and we are moving toward a specific end. In the end everything will be justified and clear. As much as I might like to change the past, for both of us, it has brought us here for a reason. With my powers I am starting to get this strange sense that everything is as it should be. You were meant to be the one to teach me and watch me. I couldn't do this by myself, without you my powers would be useless to me and I would be completely lost."

Snape stared at Sage, his eyes blank, empty. Sage couldn't read them for a few minutes but he eventually caught something flutter across those dark eyes, a sad kind of recognition, a revulsion, a guilt? He couldn't tell more than that. Not many people could read Severus and Sage was not about to try any harder. They stared at each other, looking, searching each others eyes for something. Something that would bring answers? Something that would tell them what the other's reaction would be? It was hard to tell. Snape leaned forward in his seat towards his nephew.

"It hurts to see you and to hear you and to know that you are so much like your father. So much like him that in hearing you, I can almost hear him, almost as if he is talking through you. He was a strange sort of Slytherin - though a great brother, a good person, and excellent with magic - there was something different about him, than most people in our house... He didn't judge others, he just took them as they were, for what they were worth. That was simply good enough for him or it wasn't. And being that I was his brother, he never said anything harsh about me no matter what I did. He never treated me any differently. I don't think I could have been more fortunate than having him to spend those many years with."

Sage was taken aback. It was not very often that the stoical professor let anything resembling an emotion out of himself. He most certainly never talked about Sage's father unless prodded to do so. Just to hear his uncle say something with such a tone of loss. And to hear that he was so much like his father was so shocking. 

"And now I have you, and a large part of your father lives on inside of you." Severus said standing up. "I have you, no matter how hard you are to deal with sometimes…" he said with an uplifting sarcasm and what may have been a twisted smile. "Although you are quite pleasant on occasion." He patted Sage on the shoulder.

Sage watched him walk out of the room. His eyebrow bolted up wondering what had just happened. It wasn't as if Snape was much for lifting the mood either and for non-biting, uncritical sarcasm? Before he could go much farther into his thoughts, his uncle was coming back into the room holding something. A book, a very large book. Sage got off the table and sat back down on the couch as Severus sat down on the same chair he had just left.

"Sage, it's time that we talked about him, your father. Whether you think you are ready or not. It has been long enough and it is time you get to know him as well as you can from me."

Sage's face went blank. All sorts of emotions began rising up inside of him so badly that he suddenly felt the urge to throw-up again. He took a deep breath and swallowed trying to keep himself composed. They had never really talked much about his father. In fact, a lot of the things he learned about his father he learned from his uncle's mother. 

Finally, he nodded in response.

Now is was Severus' turn to take a deep breath in preparation. "I'll start when we were both young children." Another deep breath. "Jace was three years older than I was and he was very protective of me. He was my older brother and he felt like he needed to watch over me, especially because of the way our father was…" He looked down and sighed. "Your grandfather was what I pretended to be. Every monstrosity, no doubt more than even I can imagine. He was one of the first to join Voldemort. I believe he tried to spend every spare moment grooming your father and I for the same thing. His main goal was not raising us but rather training us, toughening us, teaching us things children should never be taught." 

Sage watched his uncle with a slight look of repulsion for what he was saying. His stomach was churning and he was in disbelief at what he was hearing. His feeling of shock only intensified as he sat mute waiting for his uncle to continue.

"You see he got us both our first wands around the age of six and had us taught how to use them. And eventually, he started having your father and I fight…" 

For a man who was rarely ever at a loss for words, for a man who always spoke with resolution, Severus was having a horrible time trying to say what he wanted to say. He kept being sickened and angered by what he wanted to say before he was able to get it out.

"Your father was older than I was and should have easily been able to beat me by an extravagant gap, but he never did. He would purposely miss me or let me hit him when he could have easily blocked. But he didn't think that what our father was doing was right, he never said as much but he must have, and he didn't want to hurt me. He would appear to try so that our father wouldn't have too much of a reason to be angry with him, but he was always angry enough. I was only seven or so and I didn't understand what I was doing. I didn't really understand how I was hurting him, how our father hurt him. At least not right away. Jace never told me how the curses I had sent at him felt, because it didn't matter to him. All he knew was that if he made me look good, I would be safe. At first I thought it was because his magic wasn't as strong as mine, but when I got older I realized that wasn't true. But I was so young that I didn't know anything other than what our father fed into my head: that I was doing so well and that Jace was disappointing. I heard him yelling at Jace after we would duel and I heard your father's pleading and sometime I could hear him scream. It wasn't until much later that I realized he was using the Cruciatus on his own son.

"Finally, Jace went off to Hogwarts, and I didn't have a dueling partner anymore. That was when I finally figured out what exactly I had been doing to him all those years. Our father started doing it to me then too. 

"When he came back from school for holiday over the winter, it went back to being the way it was before he left. I was still too naïve to think about what he was doing for me. It wasn't until I was eleven and went to school and he was fourteen that I figured it out. I saw and could tell that he didn't lose because he didn't have strong magical powers, although I had already thought that wasn't true. He was head of his class. And anytime any of the other Slytherins tried to do anything to me, although I was capable of protecting myself, he would send curses flying at them with ease. When we went back home, I knew it would start again. That first night I went into his room and confronted him about it. I told him that I knew that he was doing it on purpose and I asked him why. He said, 'because you're my little brother, you shouldn't have to go through this. It isn't right.' I told him to do it for real and not fake anymore and he said to me, 'Just keep quiet if you know what's good for you Sev. Listen to me, believe me, it's better this way.' I still remember what I said to that, 'Why would you do something like that for me? I can hear you after, when your with him. I don't understand why you are protecting me like this.' His answer to me jerked me so hard because we had never talked like that before. It was just something that went unsaid. He said, 'Because you are my brother and I love you.'" 

Sage could see his uncle mentally remembering the moment and those words. His face was filled with grief. Sage now knew why the man had never talked about his brother. What he had lost when Jace was killed was something so great it could not even be put into words. Sage looked up as the man continued his story.

"So we went on with the charade for years, up until Jace moved out when he graduated. I was already marked when you were born, and that was what I did. After just over two years of it, I had started to have misgivings about what I was doing, about what I had become. I had become what our father was, what both of us hated, I had become something I was not. But, there was no easy way out, and I didn't see much of a choice so I carried on. There was one good thing that came of that. Your mother and father moved back into our home, since our father had died, and I spent plenty of time with them. I believe that was when I really felt what I was doing was wrong. They were my family, and my mother was as well, and I enjoyed being a part of it. Then you were born, and I never saw your father happier. Do you know he made me come with him when you were born? He wanted me to share the moment with him."

The usually sarcastic and unemotional potion's master opened the large book and handed it to Sage. He pointed out picture to him. There was plenty of the two boys growing up. There was one of both of them together, Jace dwarfing Severus with height, in the school robes. Severus told Sage that it was taken during his first year. Then there were the pictures that were taken at school. Sage was surprised how happy his father looked in the pictures and how alive he was. His father and his uncle looked a lot alike, except his father had softer features and lighter brown eyes. 

There was a picture of the Slytherin quidditch team holding the quidditch cup. He saw his father right away, easily the tallest, holding the cup with another player. Then his eye caught on the smallest and youngest player. It had to have been his uncle during his second year. That was the first year he had played as he had told Sage. Severus had played Seeker for a few years before taking over as Keeper when his brother graduated. 

He smiled when he came to the picture his uncle had been talking about. The two brothers, one on each side of his mother in a hospital bed, smiling at the wriggling baby she was holding in her arms. 

"Your father always tried to torment me with you, because he knew I was a little, well a lot, apprehensive about children. But what was a real surprise was how much you seemed to favor me. Your father would always tease your mother about how you liked to be held by us and not her. The older you got the more obvious that became as you can see."

Sage flipped around a few pages until the hospital pictures ended. There was a picture of his father reading to him and then another of a couchful of passed-out Snapes with a sleeping Sage. He snorted at this one. It was so hysterical to see his uncle deep asleep with fatigue with him sleeping in his arms and his father knocked out on his uncle's shoulder. It made his heart choke. He looked up at his uncle, blue eyes saddened.

"You were a real pain in the arse that night you know. I should have known how you would turn out." He sneered with fake maliciousness. Sage gave a half-smile and nodded. The little bit of levity made him feel better.

As Sage turned the pages he saw tons of pictures of his father holding him or his uncle holding him and only a few of his mother holding him. In the few ones with his mother, he always seemed to be screaming and red-faced. He wondered if the way his arms were stretched out was the direction of his father or not. It was pretty apparent that he didn't fancy his mum much. Great surprise that was, given how attentive she was after she was widowed. But that wasn't really fair of him, she was mentally decapacitated.

He grew really fast and it seemed like in no time he was a budding toddler. Sage knew those must have been taken in the few weeks before his father was killed. There was a picture of his father passing him to his uncle with a tired look on his face and it was so weird to see how he was reaching his chubby little arms towards the younger man. His uncle must have been quite different back then if he was so eager to be held by him. 

"And I thought you were bad when you couldn't get around. Gods you were crawling by then. Your father and I couldn't keep you in one place and you wouldn't leave me alone either." Severus motioned for him to turn the page and then pointed down at a picture.

Ickle Sage was crawling on the ground and then pulling on the leg of his uncle pants while the man was trying to relax on the couch. Before long, he saw his photographic self get himself up onto his uncle's lap with a triumphant and toothless smile.

"You were LOUD too. Gods, we cursed the day when you learned to say 'da' and 'Unnle Sev'. I don't think you ever yelled for your mum, but you were always yelling about everything else even with a small vocabulary. It was impossible to ignore you, try as I might."

Sage was beginning to have a hard time keeping himself straight. Seeing the pictures of such a happy family and how that had been torn from him. Well, and from his uncle as well. Seeing his father holding him made him wish he could remember it other than in his visions. He could tell that his uncle was making light of everything to keep himself from feeling too emotional about Jace. 

"Everything looks so, so… so happy," he finally said. 

"It was. We all were happy. Things were different then. I was different then. So many things happened after that." 

"Looks like I really favored you, sir. I'm all over you in the pictures. And my dad," he added softly.

"As a rule, children have never liked me, never. Not then, not when I started teaching. Even now they are scared of me. But not you. Not even when I went back to teach you after having not seen you in five years. Never. Well, not when you at least didn't have very good cause to be afraid."

Sage cringed. He knew he was afraid of his uncle when he was in trouble and he was not in denial about it. Sometimes his uncle was so indisputably intimidating. He even made other professors cower. 

"That's because I know you differently sir, you act differently around them. I can tell. Although you act that way to me too sometimes, I still know that other part no matter how little it shows up."

The older wizard sat back in his chair. "Perhaps that part you speak of is the part your father knew so well. A part that started to die after he was killed. And after other things… I don't think I even know it anymore. Except for inside my mind. Lots of things have changed since then. I have changed since then." He said this so resolutely. As if he had no thought that he could ever feel that way again, be that person again. Sage knew that he could be sometimes. He wasn't always so somber and stoical. His uncle was not as much of a git as they might think, well, at least he didn't often act that way to Sage. He did, on the other hand, give the rest of the world many reasons to hate him. That was one thing that frustrated Sage about Hogwarts. Everybody hated Severus Snape, and no matter how cold, how mean, or how demanding he was, Sage could not. It was ironic, even in his own mind, that the small part of the man they were talking about was the part he tried to associate most with his uncle. Whenever Sage got a glimpse of it, he would hold onto it. How could they not respect this man, how could they be so afraid of him, how could they talk about him like they did… They knew nothing about him, nothing about his past, nothing about his knowledge, his own magical powers, or his sacrifice for their protection. If they knew what he knew, they would respect him. It made him angry that it had to be that way. He was grateful he had his uncle, as sour as he could be sometimes, because his uncle was one of the few people that cared about what happened to him.

"Are you all right?" The man said, jostling him out of his thoughts.

"Fine," he said closing the picture album, even though it had more to look at. "Thank you for talking to me about him, about what you shared, about our family. It, it was really important for me to hear."

Severus could tell that Sage was close to losing it and knew that the boy did not want that to happen. 

            "We can talk more later. I think you need to go lay down for a little while. Your pupils look a little dialated. Dementors take a lot out of you and I kept you from recuperating long enough."

            Sage tried to smile, but was not very successful. What had just happened had been hard for them both and his uncle had made a great effort to do that for him. He knew how sick inside Severus must be feeling. Sage hadn't even known him and he felt so empty inside. His uncle had to feel even worse. But the man was doing a good job of hiding it. Perhaps the professor was only doing it for his benefit. Slowly, he put the book back onto the table, and retreated for the shower. He was half happy it was over for now and half sad that he was not going to hear more.

            Severus watched as Sage made for the bedroom to lay down. He had given the boy an easy way out so that he wouldn't have to fight to keep his composure. He didn't have to say that it was too much for him, that it was upsetting him, all he had to do was just nod and walk away. They could always talk about things more later. 

            He reached over to the book and set it down on his own lap. His finger lifted up the pages and felt for the last page. Six pictures were stacked back there and placed in an envelope. He opened it for the first time since he had first seen the pictures. The field was enormous and packed full of people. So many candles were lit, at least one for every person and the field was full of people standing in addition to those who were seated. The three rings at the end were decorated with huge blow-up wizard pictures of Jace flying around in his quidditch robes at past world cup games. 

            He choked and then ran his hand through his hair. He put the pictures down in the book without looking at the rest and closed it. He stared at it with his chest feeling like someone had dropped a house on it. Then he stood up and strode quickly out. Sage would be fine sleeping and he needed to relax and clear his mind. He went into his classroom and started brewing some potions for Pomfrey. He scowled. Even thinking about her annoyed him. His mind shifted back to the potions he would make. As tediously simple as they were, they would serve their purpose and make him forget. 

Sage sat down on the bed, he was so tired he didn't care that it was his uncle's. Afterall, the professor's bed was much more comfortable than his own. His mind was swirling with the information he had just been given. His grandfather was abusive, he did nothing short of tortured his father with the Cruciatus curse. His father must have cared a great deal about his uncle to take even more abuse in order to save him from some. He wished he had a chance to know his father, but maybe then it would have been even more difficult to lose him. And the way that Severus talked about his brother was enough to catch Sage around the chest and constrict onto him. They had been through so much together. They had even been through his birth together and his infancy. Those pictures were ingrained in his mind as his eyelids became heavy. He laid down and was soon enveloped by a blanket of deep sleep. 


	19. The Snape Quidditch Heir

Chapter 19

The Snape Quidditch Heir

The cool November air nipped at Sage's cheeks as he walked out to the quidditch field with Harry and Ron. It was a splendid day with the sun shining in the sky and only a few clouds freckling the blue. Resting on his shoulder was his broom, the prototype Nimbus, reflecting beads of sunlight off of it. Ron was still gaping at its form and the way it's color was metallic black. This was the first day that Sage would practice with the team and after Hufflepuff had defeated them, they were all ready for a long, hard practice. .

Angelina was the first to come up to him and rap him on the shoulder, saying that she hoped he was only partly as good as his father was and the entire team would be thrilled. Sage smiled as much as he ever did smile, which was only slight, but his eyes conveyed his happiness about playing quidditch and not doing work. Katie stared at his broom, which none of the girls had seen yet, while Alicia eyed him quizically. .

As Ron walked up to the stands where Hermione was already perched, Oliver Wood started talking about what they would start off with. .

"We'll do four on four today so that we can get a complete scrimmage in, thanks so our extra player." He gestured to Sage. "Plus we'll get to see how good he is. There will be no snitch, so it'll be keeper's challenge. Which ever team loses, will clean that other team's brooms.".

"Sounds good," Angelina offered. "How about you, me, Katie, and George against Sage, Alicia, Harry, and Fred.".

Wood smiled, he knew that the team stacked against Sage would be the stronger one since Harry had never played chaser, and that would make it apparent how good Sage was. "That's exactly what I was thinking. Harry, you'll have to play chaser for your team with Alicia. We will even be gracious and let your team start out with the quaffle.".

With that said they all took to the air. It had been so long since Sage had been on his broom that he forgot how exhilarating it was too speed around on it. The Prototype was so tuned to him that he almost didn't have to turn it or manuver it. It responded to the smallest changes as he shifted his weight around. He settled down in front of the three rings at his end of the field and watched as Alicia started with the quaffle. .

Before long it had become quite clear that Sage could play, and play incredibly well. The score was already 30-10 in his favor. Only one had gotten by him and that was because George had sent a bludger flying at his head at the exact same time as the quaffle, and even so he was only a few inches from stopping it anyway. He pulled up after his dive to avoid the bludger and watched as Harry went speeding down with the quaffle pocketed under his arm. Angelina and Katie were coming straight at him and if he had blinked he would have missed Angelina grab it right out from under his arm and come flying back toward him. To his left he saw Fred and George chasing the bludger, each trying to get to it first to either knock it away from Sage or knock it into him. He split his focus easily, concentrating equally on what was going on with the bludger and where the quaffle was. He narrowed his eyes in determination not to let the bludger interfere with another play. .

He tipped himself upside down as the bludger came flying at his head. It soared over his broom with him safely hanging underneath. Before he had even turned right-side up, he was bolting toward the quaffle. Just as he flipped back up, he reached out for the quaffle and grabbed onto it, two feet in front of the hoop Katie had aimmed for. He heard clapping from the stands, and smirked. He reared his hand back ready to throw the ball back into play, when Harry yelled to him..

"Hey, there's Snape. I think we need to call a time-out or something. I don't think he came to watch us practice!".

Sage tucked the quaffle back under his arm and looked down. Sure enough he could make out the black billowing robes of his uncle, splaying out in the wind. He could also make out Ron and Hermione staring at him from their place in the stands, he was nearly right underneath them. All eight players were soon on the ground. Sage landed a few feet from the professor and propped his broom up against the stands..

"How long have you been here, sir?" he asked, not too out of breath. Then he noticed that Snape was holding something wrapped in silver paper, he eyed it both curiously and suspiciously..

"Long enough," the man answered him. Sage swallowed, his uncle was in one of those moods. Then Severus continued, "Long enough to know that you carry the family's quidditch skills." Sage's mouth popped open ever so slightly. His uncle wasn't in one of those moods..

"But uncle, you should know that already.".

It was Severus' turn to smile slightly and say, "Knowing what a horrid Chaser I make, my not being able to score against you is not saying much. Even then we didn't play often. This is the first time you have played with a full team and you've done well. Your father would be pleased.".

It was difficult for Sage to swallow all of this at once. Severus had begun to make a turn towards him and it seemed so different to Sage. He had never felt that the man had been cold toward him, but he had always been pretty cut and dry. Not that he was exactly being warm now, but for being Severus he was being warm. .

"You aren't a half bad Chaser, sir, just much better at Keeper." Sage gave him a lopsided grin. "Not to be rude, but you didn't just come out here to tell me I was talented, did you?".

"No, I wanted to remind you that I want that paper of positive uses of Dark Magic tonight. Quidditch practice or no.".

Sage's smile faded. Apparently there was a limit to how benevolent Severus could be at once. "Sir, I finished it last night. I promised my work wouldn't suffer if I played and I meant it. It's even longer than you asked. If that's all, then I shouldn't really interrupt practice anymore." .

He turned away from his uncle but was caught by the sleeve of his robes by the taller man. .

"I'm not done with you yet.".

Sage turned back around and his blue eyes locked onto the potion master's dark ones. But he didn't see any anger or negative emotion in them at all. .

His uncle continued, "I thought now would be a good time to give you your birthday present.".

Sage's breathing staggered and his mouth popped slightly open again. Shocked would have been an understatement of what he was feeling. His uncle came all the way out here to give him his birthday present. Sage had nearly forgotten it was his birthday. It never felt like a pleasant time to him so he conveniently tried to ignore it most years. Finally he accepted the package that Severus was holding out to him. .

"Pocket the card though, you can read that later.".

Sage eyed the package and started into it. Under the fitting silver paper was a box. He opened it and found a brand new pair of high tech quidditch sunglasses. Under those were some well worn black Keeper gloves, shin guards, and forearm guards. He looked at those in confusion and then looked up at his uncle for an explanation..

Severus cleared his throat, "They were your father's when he was your age, and he passed them on to me, and now they belong to you. Those have never lost a game. I special ordered the sunglasses. They are charmed to adapt to whatever conditions there are on the field.".

His voice was lost and he couldn't find it. Sage tried to move his lips but they did not move. He was speechless. His uncle was staring at him now, looking strangely pleased with himself. Severus had never really given him a present that wasn't a book of some sort. He had certainly never given him such a fitting gift. .

Snape pat him on the shoulder and said, "You can thank me later tonight when you find your voice.".

Sage watched him retreat back towards the castle with his robes spreading out behind him gracefully. Suddenly Harry came up to him slamming his hand into Sage's back. The entire team was soon around him and Ron and Hermione came down off the stands. .

"You didn't tell us it was your birthday, Sage!" Hermione said shaking a finger at him..

"Yeah mate, what was that all about?" Ron added..

Harry took the sunglasses out of Sage's hand and put them on. "WOW, cool.".

Sage was still speechlessly holding the box in his left hand, his right hand still in the position as if it were still holding onto the sunglasses. Hermione waved a hand in front of his face. Ron stood in front if him, knees bent, looking at Sage's frozen face..

"Snape, earth to Snape!" He said, now waving his hand in front of Sage's face like Hermione had. .

* * * After Sage had showered, he went directly to the dungeons to find his uncle. He had managed to stammer out a thank you without losing his composure too much. His uncle had always said never to betray his emotions, that he should always try to keep them hidden. Severus had said that it was too easy for people to read you when you let your emotions have free rein over your actions. .

Now they were walking together to go to dinner. They were talking about some of the positive uses of Dark Magic that Sage had come up with. Sage had come to the conclusion that there was no such thing as Dark Magic, because all magic was, was a force or a power, the user was the one that made the magic good or bad depending upon what they used it for. It was one of Severus's favorite philosophical arguments on magic and his opinion coincided with Sage's. .

As they rounded the corner to dinner, Severus saw the one person he always tried to avoid at all costs. Sibyl Trelawney.

"Dear gods," he said.

She was headed straight for them and she never ceased to try and read Snape's palm. He was also one of her favorite people to predict the death of. She stopped right in front of them and smile at Severus. She opened her mouth to say something before she looked at Sage and stopped.

"My dear! Do you have a strong aura about you."

Sage's eyebrow went up skeptically. He looked at Severus who had his eyes shut and his hand on his forehead.

"Is this your nephew Severus?"

Snape growled as he exhaled, "Yes. Sage, this is Professor Trelawney."

Sage suddenly had a look of comprehension on his face. This was the crazy woman his uncle had always told him about. The fraud Seer.

"Oh, I must read your palm," she said, grabbing his hand. She let out a series of ooohhhhhs and aaahhhs. "There is great power inside of you."

Snape snorted. _Of course there is, you twit, he's a Magi._

"And great mystery," she continued. "You are a Scorpio, no?".

Sage looked at Severus and then back a Trelawney. It could have been a good guess. "Today is my birthday.".

"Yes dear, of course. There is a great cloud surrounding you. I feel that your magic will one day be like the scorpion's tail. You are quiet and calculating. Strong but sensitive. Your future is very unclear, all I see is great power." 

Snape snorted again. 

"Dangerous, dangerous," she finished. "You Scorpios are difficult. Just like your uncle." She shot Snape a dirty look.

Severus finally managed to save himself and Sage from the woman. She just never gave up. _Great power inside of him. Doesn't take much Divination to figure that out! _


	20. The Gifts of Christmas

Chapter 20

Gifts of Christmas  

              Sage had finally convinced Hermione that there was no way he was going to play his guitar in class. It took a tremendous amount of shaking his head furiously and lots of wind hand gestures, but she had finally gave up. She had decided it wasn't worth totally making him mad by saying something about how he could play the guitar in class so that he would have to play. She decided that would be too Slytherin of her. Now she was forced into doing it by herself. She told the professor she would have something they could listen to so she was going to sing. 

            Now she was not so sure of her decision to sing as she looked out over the crowd of her fellow students. She swallowed hard and looked over every face. He was sitting there, in the back, next to that Amanda girl with the biggest smirk on his face she had ever seen. He thought this was going to be amusing, she growled in her mind. She took a deep breath as the professor began to talk about the song she was going to sing. It had been on the popular muggle radio station. 

            Sage put one elbow up on his desk and resting his chin on his hand. He could tell that she was nervous by the way she was looking around at everyone as if they were circling wolves. Her eyes met his, she gave him a dirty look, which only made him smirk even more. No one got away with looking at him like that. Well, only his uncle got away with it. 

            She began to sing in a strong, clear voice. His smirk faded, he blinked his eyes.

"It's a damn cold night, trying to figure out this life…"

 She had a beautiful voice and she sang the words passionately as if it were something she longed for. Her eyes were so expressive as she sang. He closed his eyes to listen carefully.

            "Take me by the hand, take me somewhere new, I don't know who you are, but I, I'm with you. I'm with you," she sang. 

            The way the word 'you' was so dragged out by her perfect voice made him fade into the song. He loved music. He loved to play. It was his way to escape, because he got so caught up in it. He could tell that she was caught up in it as well, in her own song. The song had to have meaning for her to sing it with such enthusiasm. It was something she had imagined in her mind many times over. She knew what she wanted and whom she wanted, and now she was singing it.

            Then reality came back to him and his eyes snapped open. Her voice had stopped singing and there was silence. Everyone began clapping and he clapped too. 

            Mandy looked at him and said, "She's good, isn't she."

            Sage turned at looked at her and met her hazel eyes. She stared back into his eyes, quite a Slytherin quality. "Yeah, yes, yes she is."

            The clapping stopped. Mandy smirked at him, "She fancies you, you know."

            Sage's mouth almost fell open but he caught it before it did, "What!" 

            Mandy gave a slight laugh at his ignorance, "She likes you, Sage."

            "How do you know?" He asked this as condescending as he could.

            "A girl can tell. She may not even realize she fancies you yet, but she does."

            He stared at her, "She doesn't fancy me, Mandy, we're just friends."

            "Okay, you believe that if you want, but you'll see. I'm right. You boys miss a lot of things you know. Can't even realize when a girl likes you. You have more than one admirer from what I've seen Sage Snape."

            "Ahhh, that's just girls trying to be nice to me so that my uncle won't fail them in potions."

            "No, that's just you being male and oblivious, is all."

            Sage glared at her in disbelief. He was not oblivious. 

            "Miss Macnair, Mr. Snape, I do hate to interrupt your social lives, but if you would please pay attention before I take points."

*          *          *

            Before the students knew it, the holidays came around and covered Hogwarts in thick, white snow. Sage spent a lot of time beating Ron at Wizard's Chess with Harry looking on trying to get some free pointers. Sage turned out to be the only one who could beat Ron, which made Ron irritable. Ron kept trying to recover his title by making Sage play against him every spare moment, but Sage just kept widening the gap between them. 

            Hermione's favorite activity was making Sage help her with Transfiguration and Charms, even though she had already finished her homework for the holidays. She had him help her to get ahead, so they spent a lot of time in the common room or in his room studying. Sage hated the library, mostly because of Madam Pince, who always eyed him warily, but also because he didn't like the smell. The common room was often not a place to study, as Fred and George always were making noise, or someone was playing Exploding Snap

            This morning, though, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had convinced him to go and visit Hagrid with them. As they were walking back with Hagrid escorting them, a huge, cold, wet, snowball hit Ron on the side of the head. Fred and George jumped out from behind a bush and began to throw as many as they could before the others had a chance to retaliate. The four younger Gryffindors grabbed snow and began flinging it back at the twins. Ron, by far, was taking the worst of the snow-balling by Fred and George. Soon they were all covered in snow and the dividing lines were forgotten as Hermione slammed Ron with a snowball too. Sage had managed to stop a few from hitting him square in the face by focusing them away from him. Unfortunately his skills did not prevent him from getting walloped as well. 

            As they were walking back together laughing, Sage was crafting a perfect snowball in his hand to pop Hermione right in the hair before they went back inside, but he was distracted by someone walking towards them. 

            Professor Snape was stalking towards them through the snow.

            "What do you think you're doing, all running around out here, with Sirius Black on the loose. Unescorted to say the least!"

            They all suddenly noticed that Hagrid must have beat a hasty retreat shortly after the snowball fight had occurred. Everyone else looked ready to run but Sage had a wicked grin on his face. Harry saw and quickly figured out what Sage was meaning to do. He was in the middle of trying to convince Sage it wasn't a good idea when the tall, black haired boy, threw the tightly balled projectile straight at Snape. Immediately, Sage rearmed himself before the snowball even hit Severus square in the chest. 

            "What the!" Severus exclaimed, "SAGE!"

            Fred, George, Ron, Harry, and Hermione began to run for their lives. Sage sent another snowball flying at his uncle before the man had a chance to react. 

            "SAGE SEVERUS SNAPE, STOP NOW!"

            Just as he yelled the last word a snowball crashed right into his forehead. Snape had no other recourse but to start throwing snowballs back at his nephew as he made his way toward Sage. 

            The group of students who had run stopped right at the door and turned around to watch. Both Snapes were pummeling each other with snowballs, but they could tell Sage's time was limited as Severus was getting dangerously close to him. Before long Severus hit Sage right in his face, blinding him with snow momentarily, before he tackled him down into the snow yelling about detentions, cleaning cauldrons, and his cheek. Then he held him down in the snow by the neck and shoved a handful of snow right into his face, rubbing it around. Sage put his hands up in defeat. Severus got off him and started stalking away. Sage jumped up and fell into step next to him, just in time to notice his friends escaping through the door.

            "Your friends can all serve detention with you for a night for being out here by themselves."

            Sage looked up at him, "Sir, I was just having fun. I didn't mean anything by it."

            Severus shook his head, "You won't be having fun at my expense. You can't be doing those kinds of things with students around. You know that I have an image I need to keep up."

            "Uncle, it gets kind of tiring pretending that you're mean bastard."

            Snape wheeled around on him, stopping him by the shoulder. "I can do without your attitude. You cannot just act so familiar. Since you are so convinced that Voldemort is going to come back, as I am as well, you know that I must keep up my act now above all time. I have Slytherins watching me, junior Death Eaters, reporting back what they see, and Slytherin families do not act like this. You wouldn't throw a snowball at your father, uncle, whoever, without expecting to get a crucio sent your way if you were in one of their families. You will treat me accordingly."

            Sage let out something resembling half a growl and a sigh. He figured he shouldn't be surprised that his uncle was always so serious, but Sage was beginning to have a way of becoming less serious himself when he was around such company. Gryffindors weren't exactly the beacons of propriety. They definitely had an influence on him. He found himself wishing that his father were around. He had a feeling that Jace would have enjoyed a good snowball fight. 

*          *          *

            Christmas had finally come around and Sage was a little out of sorts as his present for his uncle hadn't yet arrived. He had managed to get some things for his friends, as he was really beginning to think of them that way. Tomorrow was Christmas morning and they would all unwrap presents together and the Sage was going to have breakfast with Severus. Time was running short on the present, which he obviously couldn't replace at this point. 

            He was having a hard time concentrating on Hermione as she was asking him questions about higher magic. His mind kept floating back to not having the present. 

            "Sage, can you teach me a summoning charm?"

            He stared at her, "What?"

            "A summoning charm, Sage. What's wrong, you aren't here with me?"

            He put his chin in his hand, "My present for Professor Snape hasn't come yet. It should have been here by now."

            She patted his arm reassuringly, "It's still early, I'm sure that Aries will get it here on time."

            Aries was his owl. 

            Sage shrugged, "I hope so. I was pretty proud of what I managed to find for him. He's been in a sour mood since the snowball incident and has been yelling at me quite a bit for not doing as much work as I should be. The present would put him in some better spirits."

            She smiled at him, "I'm sure he isn't really mad at you. He's just being parental. What did you get for him?"

            Sage's mouth curved into small smile. His blue eyes had a certain gleam to them.

            "I put together this list of potions books he has, and there are hundreds, believe me, then I sent the list out to various bookstores all around the world. I asked the booksellers if they had any old books on potions that were not on my list. I didn't get many responses and the ones I did get were not very promising. Then a few weeks ago, I got one from a bookseller in the Czech Republic, and they had the perfect book on potions."

            Hermione looked at him in a state of awe. Sage had gone through a lot of trouble to find Snape such a good present. 

            "What's it called?"

            "You see that was the problem. It was in a very ancient language, some form of Arabic. So I had to find someone to translate it and the book hasn't come back from the translator I found in Germany."

            They chatted about the book for a few more minutes before moving back to summoning charms. Before long Hermione was saying 'Accio' and retrieving things from her room upstairs. She enjoyed having Sage around to teach her new things. It was much easier to learn from him than to learn from a book. 

*          *          *

            Hermione had just opened up Sage's present and was already thumbing through the book on Transfiguration he had gotten for her. He knew that she had a passion for it and could learn much faster than McGonagall was teaching. Before he knew it, she had put down the book at given him a hug. Sage's look of shock faded before she let him go. Ron stared at her for a minute but kept his mouth shut. She hadn't hugged him when she opened his present.

            Sage opened Ron's present and was not shocked to see the largest heap chocolate covered caramels he had even seen in his life apart from in Honeydukes. Ron always thought with his stomach and he also knew that Sage had an affinity for anything with caramel, and chocolate covered ones were one of his favorite even though he hated straight chocolate. Ron opened up a Chudley Cannons shirt from Sage. Harry opened up a little box from Sage that held a small silver and gold replica of a snitch with a silver chain to put it on. Ron opened a book from Hermione. Harry opened up Chocolate Frogs from Ron. Finally Sage was last to go when he opened up what Hermione had gotten him. It was a small silver medallion with three runic symbols on it and a black leather cord. He studied the symbols before he figured out what they meant: Balance, Focus, Power. They were three symbols carved on a druidic rune where Merlin was said to have been born. He stared at it, then at her. She was looking at him with apprehension. 

            "Will you tie it on for me," he asked.

            She jumped up and over to him. She put her arms around him and said, "Do you really like it?"

            "Of course I do."

            Her bushy hair was tickling his face and he was thankful when she released him. She took the necklace from him and tied it around his neck. Just when she had finished tying it on for him, the portrait hole opened and Professor McGonagall came in carrying something followed by a black and grey owl. Aries hooted and landed right on Sage's lap, soaking wet from snow. 

            "Mr. Snape your owl would not stop irrately tapping on my window since he could not get into here as the windows are locked. Although I am not a delivery service, I figured that I would bring this to you as it is most likely a Christmas present."

            "I'm sorry Professor McGonagall. He couldn't wait until breakfast later, it's my present for my uncle."

            She handed him the package and then went back out through the portrait hole. They all figured that Aries had to have woken her up because she looked both aggravated and sleepy. Hermione got up and then came back with a little hand towel as Sage opened the parcel. Aries flapped his wings, sending droplets everywhere, and then Hermione rubbed the towel over his feathers. He nipped at her hands as a gesture of gratitude and then proceeded to stare at Sage. 

            He held the newly translated version, bound in new black and green, and the older version in faded out grey lay next to him on the floor. The book's cover read, Powerful Potiones for the Darke Wizard. 

            "Dark Wizard," Harry said.

            "You know my uncle fancies the Dark Arts. There is something to learn from all magic, Potter. Besides how can you fight against or defend yourself against something you know little about. It is much better if you are aware of all possibilities."

            "Very wise," Hermione said. "Did Professor Snape tell you that?"

            "Yes, he did, Dark Knowledge is only a danger when it is in the wrong hands. There is nothing inherently dark about anything, the wizard who uses it for dark purposes makes it Dark Magic. It's not as if you use it or read it and become evil."

            "I guess not," Harry said. He was wary of anything with a Dark in front of it because of his run-ins with Voldemort. Besides, Snape couldn't be bad if Dumbledore let him teach at Hogwarts, and the man had saved his life once. "But could you please not call me Potter like that, it reminds me of Snape.

            Sage shook his head. He, like Severus, had figured out that the best way to grab Harry's attention was to call him Potter. He wrapped up the books, told everyone that he would see them later, and went down to see Severus. 


	21. Transference and Quidditch

Chapter 21

Sage Snape, Gryffindor Keeper

                Sage was trying to use the morning to finish some of his work. Ron and Hermione had been fighting so much over Scabbers' shady death that nobody had been able to have any peace and quiet. Thankfully, everyone was still asleep as it was a weekend and he was taking advantage of the silence. He was working on a new Dark Arts project for Lupin, which was never work he tried to avoid. Sage appreciated the Dark Arts just like his uncle and was a firm believer that he needed to know anything that could be used against him. Lack of knowledge of a huge area could be potentially fatal. 

            Suddenly, a door slammed upstairs and he heard someone yelling, "Don't worry, I'll get McGonagall!" A sixth year came pounding down the steps, hurdled a couch, and was out the portrait hole before Sage had a chance to ask what was wrong. He heard others stirring upstairs and figured that his time was limited. His silence would soon he invaded. He decided to pick up his stuff and shove off to the Great Hall to study for a little while longer before breakfast. The hall would surely be quiet.

            Not long after he had began to study, a few students began straggling in for breakfast and plates of food appeared on the tables. Sage was in the middle of eating his eggs when Ron came running into the hall with Hermione. Each of them grabbed one of Sage's arms and insisted that he had to go with them. Reluctantly, he let himself be led away by the two of them.

            Professor McGonagall was standing outside of the hospital wing with Harry, Alicia, Angelina, Katie, Fred, and George. They all turned and looked on his with wide eyes as if he were a big, expensive jewel. 

*          *          *

            The stands were full of admiring fans crowded in to watch the quidditch match: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. Dumbledore was looking around for Professor McGonagall as the game was about to begin in about fifteen minutes. Lee Jordan was already in his seat preparing to announce for the game. Just as the teams were soaring out onto the field, Professor McGonagall sat down, quite out of breath.

            Lee Jordan began commenting on Harry's new Firebolt, as the twins had told him that Harry was allowed to use it for the match. He was so busy commenting on Harry and getting scolding for not properly commenting that he completely missed the other oddity on the pitch. He had just been scolded for the third time about talking about Harry when he noticed what was wrong. 

            "That's not Oliver Wood!" He exclaimed straight into the microphone. 

            Professor McGonagall began to whisper into his ear and his eyes shot open wider as he lifted up his omnioculars to better see. He lifted up his microphone as well.

            "Professor McGonagall has just informed me that Oliver Wood has food poisoning and filling in for him is Gryffindor's newly acquired reserve Keeper, Sage Snape."

            Severus bolted out of his seat next to Dumbledore, and with surprising strength for such an old man, Dumbledore pushed him back down into his seat.

            Lee was nearly jumping up and down now. "Sage Snape is the son of reknown Keeper Jace Snape and nephew of our very own Professor Snape!"

            McGonagall scolded Lee Jordan again for not commenting on the match, which was underway. Snape was seething. Dumbledore held him down with one hand.

            Lee ignored McGonagall. "As you all know Jace Snape was the owner of the Nimbus company and Gryffindor will be unbeatable as, I am told by Professor McGonagall, Sage is riding a prototype broom by Nimbus. If you thought the Firebolt was impressive, you're going to witness better today."

            Finally the boy began commenting on what was going on because Katie Bell had just scored the games first goal. Sage was hovering by their goals, his sunglasses on, intently watching everything that was going on. Gryffindor managed to score six more goals in succession, but not one had gotten by Sage. In fact, he made blocking look easy. 

            Ravenclaw was in possession again and flying straight for the goal. Sage watched intently as she came at him, trying to judge where she might be aimming for, then he saw a Beater come flying up next to her. He knew that a bludger would be coming his way soon and he had no sooner figured that out than a bludger came flying at his head. He was forced to dive down to avoid it and through the corner of his eyes, he was able to see the quaffle. As he pulled up, he put a foot up onto the mount of the broom, let go of it with his hands, and jumped off the broom to catch the quaffle. The crowd was completely silent as they watched, in apparent slow motion, Sage flying through the air and the quaffle soaring towards the goal. The crowd erupted with applause as he caught it with the pads of his fingertips and landed back on his broom. He reared back his arm and sent the quaffle flying over two Ravenclaw Chasers to Alicia Spinnet, who took off with it.

            "Wow, Snape has just showed us what kind of skills he has. An aerial jump off of his broom and barely grabbing the quaffle. Gryffindor will be set for next year when Oliver Wood is gone. And his pass to Alicia Spinnet is good and she scores. Gryffindor now leading 80-0."

            Dumbledore patted Severus on the shoulder, the younger man was grinding his teeth and clenching his fists. "Having a heart attack Severus?"

            Snape growled in response.

            Back on the field, Sage saw Harry go into a dive with Cho Chang right behind, then he pulled up and headed down the field. Sage saw them before Cho did. Dementors on the field again. He had to do something quickly because Harry was right over the top of them. Harry did not need to have another fall. Sage took his hands off his broom and concentrated on Harry, he put his hand out. Just as he did that, Harry bellowed, "Expecto Patronum!"

            A huge, silver stag came flying out of Harry's wand towards the dementors. Sage smiled and wiped his forehead concentrating back onto the game. Just as he look back down the field he saw Harry catch the snitch, but not before he noticed the fact that the dementors were none other than a bunch of Slytherins, his cousin Draco included.

            In the stands Severus looked wide-eyed at Dumbledore and Dumbledore gave him the same look. It was not because of the Slytherins on the field, it was because of the extraordinarily big Patronus Harry had been able to conjure. 

            "Did you see that, headmaster?" Snape asked quietly.

            Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, Severus, Mr. Potter had some help conjuring that Patronus. I believe your young nephew has just learned how to use a very strong form of magic."

            "He jumped his powers onto Potter…"

            "Yes, Severus, it was his powers transferred onto Harry that allowed Harry to conjure such a large Patronus."

            Snape shook his head slightly in disbelief and looked down the field towards Sage. He had seen Sage let go of the broom and do something, and now the boy was smiling with relief. 

            "He could have hurt someone headmaster," Severus said.

            "Yes, but he also could have saved someone's life. If those weren't fake dementors, Harry could have been badly hurt in another fall. He was very high."

            Harry held up the snitch for all to see, and Lee Jordan commented on what a perfect, textbook game Gryffindor had played. Harry had caught the snitch in record time, Sage had played a clean game, and Gryffindor had scored plenty of goals.

            Of course, nobody had any idea that Sage had anything to do with the Patronus that came out of Harry's wand. Harry did not even know that he had help. Sage was not going to tell him otherwise. 

            They had all landed and were being swarmed by other Gryffindors when Sage saw Dumbledore and Snape calling him over. He left the circle of crowding students and walked over to them, his broom over his shoulder. 

            "Well played game Sage, you have your father's talent, and your uncle's if I dare say."

            Sage smiled slightly, "Thank you, sir."

            "You could have done without the acrobatics, one goal against you wouldn't have hurt when you were so ahead," Severus said.

            "Uncle, you can't tell me that you or my father would have let that one go by. I bet both of you would have tried your hardest to get it too."

            Severus scowled.

            "Don't mind him Sage, he is just sour because he almost had a heart attack when you were in midair. But, that is not the issue we need to talk about."

            Sage blinked. He knew what was coming. "You saw?"

            Dumbledore nodded. "That was a very complex bit of magic you did. You could have saved Harry's life had those been real dementors."

            "Or you could have killed someone." Severus sneered.

            Sage looked down and sighed.

            "Sage, what your uncle is saying is a bit over-reactive but you must be conscious of the dangers of doing such spells. In the future, please do not let real life be your trial ground for magic you have not done before. Just as with other magic, you must practice continually first before you use it around others, it is very dangerous."

            "Yes sir, I'm sorry, I just thought it was a life or death situation. I won't use it again until I've practiced more."

            The headmaster patted him on the shoulder and walked away. Severus, however, glared at him.

            "I am sorely disappointed, Sage. I have told you before not to do something so foolish, have I not?"

            "Yes sir, you have."

            "Then why did you do it?"

            "I just thought-."

            "No, you did not think. Dumbledore may not think this to be a serious matter, however, I do. You can have two nights of detention and count yourself lucky. We'll be discussing improper use of magic later tonight. Next time, you will not be so foolish. Do not think so much of yourself that you forget the dangers of what you do. You are a Magi and you cannot afford to forget the seriousness of your powers."

            "Yes, sir." 

            Severus stalked away. Not even a 'good game'. Sage sighed, to Severus quidditch would always come after studies and ethics no matter how well he performed.

            Sage congratulated himself. He had not been scored on the entire game. His first game and his first clean game all in one. The smile on his face only faded when he thought about the fact that his father would have liked to have seen him play. His father would have been proud, even if Severus was not.


	22. Discoveries and Pain

Chapter 22

Discoveries and Pain

            Sage fell into a deep sleep on the chair in his room. He had been studying for an oral examination his uncle was going to give him on the potions he had learned that year that were from first and second year classes. After hours upon hours of straight studying, he had finally fallen asleep. His dream was vivid and dark…

            The snake was circling the rat, its red eyes concentrating on it. The rat had its head lowered as if in respect. The snake rose up above the rat and swayed back and forth over it. A mist rose and Sage saw the rat getting bigger. A green flash sped him forward to another part of the dream. There was a man. That same man from his visions earlier in the year. A man carrying a bundle, probably a baby. A bright flash brought him into a different dream.

_            A grim, stalking the grounds of Hogwarts. A cat chasing after a rat. Then he saw the slashing of fabric. _

            A noise dropped him out of his dream and he hit his head on the side of his chair. He jumped out of the chair when he heard a scream. Before he could think better of it, he ran out of his room and towards the stairs. His progress was arrested when something hit him hard in the chest and he went sailing backwards. He wasn't sure who it was or even what it was. His head pounded and his vision went Black. He could not have been out for long because he still heard screaming upstairs when he opened his eyes.

            Ron was coming down the stairs screaming that Black had tried to kill him. Percy was shushing him and telling him he was making no sense. Sage had just been run over by Sirius Black. Why had he not felt sick? Surely being around Black, who was surely evil, would have made him sick. Out of nowhere his head pounded again and he felt a knife cut him through the spine. He fell to the ground and was surrounded again by a vision.

            His body was being cleaved apart and burned piece by piece. He writhed as he felt pokers in his ears. His eyeballs felt as if hundreds of tiny papercuts had just turned up. Then the vision came to his mind through all of the pain.

            A werewolf and a great black dog were brawling and slashing at each other. Dementors were swirling around him, he looked up and saw its scabbed hand grab him. There was a cat streaking under the whomping willow. A big heap of black fabric went sailing through the air in front of his eyes. There was screaming. A flash of green and he saw something he couldn't place. It was like a man, but it was not. It was something half man and half snake. With red, beady eyes. Voldemort. There was screaming and cackling. 'I need Harry Potter'.

            His vision faded, but the pain continued as he felt hammers crush down onto his skull and fingers. Needles were poking through his flesh and then scraping out again. He heard a voice. There was movement around him. He felt the potion go down his throat. His limbs stopped flailing around. There was a hand on him. He heard the voice again. The pain began to fade. He painfully opened his eyes. His body echoed the pain from the vision, but he knew that it was over for now. That was the last thing he thought before he blacked out.

The steps felt incredibly long and high as Sage climbed back up them on his way back to Gryffindor tower. When he woke after his vision, he found himself down there with Severus. His uncle had taken the time he had Sage as a captive audience to give him a  lecture about when to use and when not to use his more potent magical powers. In other words, he was not to use transference anymore, or at least for a very long time. Severus explained to him that even when he was successful in interlocking himself with someone else so that they could use his powers, the powers themselves could severely hurt the other person. This was especially the case when the powers were too strong for the person. That was what had made Severus angry in the first place, Sage was lucky that he had only transferred for a few seconds or he could have made Harry very sick. No teenager who wasn't a Magi could handle the extent of those powers. Sage's headache had progressed from bad to worse in a very short time and he had promised his uncle that he would not use transference again. 

            When he finally made it into the common room, he easily plopped down into a cushy chair. He relaxed for awhile before deciding that he needed to go to the library to find a new Dark Arts topic in the Restricted Section. He changed into khaki pants and a dark maroon long sleeved shirt, grabbed his bag, and started towards the library. 

            He found Harry sitting alone at a table and joined him. He grabbed a few books from the Restricted Section and then sat down. 

            Before long Sage caught Harry staring at him over his book. Sage put down his quill and stared back a Harry. The other boy put down his book.

            "Sage, erm, how are we related. I never asked you before?"

            Sage continued to stare at Harry in silence. "I was wondering when you would ask me that."

            "Well?"

            "Your grandmother on your dad's side was my grandmother on my dad's side too. She was a Potter, and they were a very ancient pureblooded family, and she married my grandfather (Professor Snape's father) first. Later, after my father was born, she decided that he was not the kind of man she wanted to be with, he was abusive. She left him and married a distant cousin of hers, another Potter. Together they had your father. That same year Professor Snape was born. Our grandmother was forced to leave custody of my father to my grandfather, because he had evidence that she had been unfaithful. My father and my uncle were half-brothers because they shared the same father. Just as my father was a half-brother of your father as well, since they shared the same mother."

            Harry nodded the entire time, while trying to map out what Sage had been telling him.

            "I never imagined a Snape marrying a Potter."

            Sage smirked, "As I said, until your father, many Potters believed in pureblood doctrine and wouldn't marry out of their station. Whether that's right or not is another matter."

            Harry chose to ignore the statement. "So, how are you related to Malfoy?"

            "My father married Lucius Malfoy's sister. She was not like him, and it is certain that my father brought out the best of her, but she was rather cold. My grandfather had arranged the match, but the two of them had seemed fond of each other anyway."

            "Did your father oppose Voldemort?"

            Sage took in a deep breath, he had no idea where Harry's questions were going. He was afraid that it was going somewhere it shouldn't.

            "Harry, my father played quidditch professionally. He was not on a side."

            Harry took a deep breath, "Well, erm, I, uh, have been wondering, after hearing about your father, why, why would he want to kill him, and you, and me and my parents."

            "I don't think that we should be talking about this Harry. This isn't the time."

            For the first time, Sage spotted his uncle nearby. He hoped that he hadn't heard the question that Harry had asked him. But, his hopes were dashed when Severus began to walk up to them. He wore the worst sneer.

            "Sage, I think this is a perfect time. Why don't you tell Saint Potter why you don't have a father."

            Sage grimaced, as did Harry. Sage could read the look of fear and tension on Harry's face.

            "Sir, I don't think-."

            "Tell him why he is dead," Severus ordered.

            Sage looked back at Harry in an almost apologetic fashion.

"Before my father was murdered, a group of young aurors who weren't yet graduated from training decided that they wanted to test their skills, prove themselves. They knew that a few of their past classmates had gotten Marked. These classmates were students that they particularly did not like. So, they went to the house of a young man named Wilkes. He lived alone. He was a Death Eater and they killed him, they did not even try to take him in, they just killed him. After that they went to the manor of the Rosier family, got through the wards, and went into the house. What they had not counted on was the fact that they were contending with an entire family. You see, Harry, Death Eaters train their children very young, so that even a child is dangerous. They came upon Evan Rosier's little sister, who was seven, they asked her where her older brother was, she whipped out her wand and began to fling curses at them. The aurors were taken by surprise as they were stormed by Rosier's family. A lot of damage was done. One of the aurors was killed. One of Rosier's younger siblings was as well. The aurors had not had enough experience or training to be prepared. They did not know what half the curses were that were being thrown at them. They had set themselves up for death. Suddenly, another auror showed up and then five more. Their mentor, Alastor Moody had heard about the Wilkes incident and then figured out what the young recruits were up to. He saved them, but the had to kill Rosier and his entire family to do it. Naturally Voldemort did everything in his power to discover who those junior aurors were so that he could go after them. He was only able to discover two names: Sirius Black and James Potter. He did not go after Black for obvious reason, we now know they were on the same side, but He decided that Potter's entire family was going to suffer. He wanted to kill them all."

            Sage stopped to take a breath. Harry was in shock.

            "Then, then why did they not want to kill my mum?" He whispered.

            Sage looked up to Severus and then looked back to Harry.

            "One day I will be able to answer that question for you fully, Harry, but right now all I know is that Lily had a friend who was with the Dark Lord. Voldemort would not go after your mother. That, that was not planned. After my father was murdered, your parents knew that they would be next. They tried to hide. There must be another reason for why Voldemort wanted to have the male Potter's killed, but this is the only reason we have so far."

            Harry was sweating lightly. "It, it was my father's fault that Voldemort killed your father. My father, did, did that?"

            Severus huffed, reminding both of them of his presence, "Yes Potter, your father's stupidity managed to get himself killed and the rest of his family too. His arrogance. His arrogance nearly killed you and Sage. Sage's father was murdered because of something your father did."

            Severus turned on his heel and strode off.

            Harry put his face in his hands. Sage sighed and then took a deep breath.

            "I don't really blame your father for what happened. People do stupid things when they are young. It is not often that the consequences are so, so, who am I playing? Mistakes do not normally result in death. Your father's did. I certainly don't blame you, Harry."

            Harry moved his hands, there were tears on his cheeks, "What my father did, it, it made you, makes you go through the same things I do. I hear my mum, Sage, I hear her scream when the dementors come around. Sometimes I have dreams where I can see her crumple to the floor. I, I remember the flash of green light. Do you… see the…same things?"

            "I hear my father's death too. I hear my mother scream trying to protect me too. We have shared a lot of things, Harry. I know what it feels like. Get a hold of yourself"

            "Sage, I, I can't sleep at night. I can't stop hearing it. It won't go away." He wiped away the tear on his cheek. His took a deep breath and tried to compose himself.

            "Harry, I didn't want to tell you the story. I'm sorry. I can give you something for sleeping." 

            "That's why Professor Snape hates my father so much, and why he doesn't like me either."

            Sage nodded. There was more to why Severus hated James, much more, but he was not going to tell Harry anything else. Most of it he could not tell to Harry anyway. Harry did not know that Severus had been a Death Eater and that he had turned into a spy. There were a lot of things that Harry did not know. 


	23. The Prophecies

Chapter 23

The Prophecies

            Severus stalked back to the dungeons, his head was swimming with thoughts. He grinded his teeth and tried to banish them from his mind. He disabled the wards to his rooms and strode in. He paced a full circle around his living room before he sat down on the couch. 

            He was angry that Potter did not even know what his father had done, did not know exactly how arrogant his own father had been. He probably thought his father was some sort of a hero. When James Potter had never been anything other than a trouble-maker and a jock. 

            His mind took over and he began to remember scenes from his past. He was quiet when he first came to Hogwarts, but not a shy type of quiet, a calculating type of quiet. His education had begun many years before and he easily excelled above everyone else, especially in Defense and Potions. He did not have many friends and he especially disliked Lucius, although he never showed it. His father had been adamant that he get along with the Malfoys. 

            He had been a thin boy, but tall for his age. A lot of his spare time he spent with older students and his brother. Severus had met her in their first year. She was a rather bland looking girl with large red hair and bright green eyes, not to mention a few pimples here and there. She was thin like a rail and was often ridiculed by other students because she was, during first year, the shy type. Sirius Black and James Potter had chosen to throw a spell at her that would make her hair look even more like she had put a finger to a muggle electrical outlet. They had done it right before the Gryffindors had potions with the Slytherins and Severus has seen it happen. Before he knew what he was doing, his wand was out and he sent a curse flying at them. They both had run after that, no doubt up to the hospital wing. 

            She had favored Severus after that. They began to talk. He didn't care what she looked like and he knew he was rather lanky and average. Hormones were not working at that age anyway. He agreed to help her in potions class, because her natural ability there was rather abyssmal. 

            He had watched her turn into a beautiful girl, with sleek red hair, beautiful white skin, and caring green eyes. She had an effect on him. He had never known happiness like he had known it with her. He must have grown into a handsome young man too, because they started dating during early third year. She became so warm and outgoing that Severus could not help but feel as if he was freed from some terrible thing that had been binding him before she walked into his life. Whatever his father had taken away from him, Lily gave it back. Whatever his father tried to instill in him, how cold his father had wanted him to be, Lily changed. Severus was much more like Jace in those years. Happy, free, and only acting a certain role when he had too. But Severus had never been as trusting or forgiving as Jace had. Severus was always naturally suspicious of people. Lily had tried to change that in him too, but he had told her that there were bad things in the world and that you had to be prepared for them. 

            She had been afraid of his interest in the Dark Arts at first, but she had grown to appreciate his philosophy that knowledge did not make one evil, it only made one prepared. They had been in love. They were inseperable. He would go on 'trips' with Jace over the holidays so that his father would not know he was visiting her or even dating her. His father would have been furious, he would have forbade his son to date a 'mudblood'. 

            His father had wanted Severus to get Marked after he graduated, but Severus wanted none of it. He thought better of himself, he did not want to serve someone, even Voldemort. Severus did not want to be a Death Eater, he wanted to have a blissful life with Lily. He had even talked with Lily about eventually getting married. His own naivete at that age sickened him. 

            Severus could not say that he had loved his father, because he had not. But, he had respected the man a lot. His father had been a good father at some times, not often. When his father died, he had been so angry, he wanted the aurors to be killed. Severus had no proof, but he knew the aurors aimmed to kill and not bring anyone to trial. He knew that they had no evidence his father was a Death Eater, his father was too prominent to allow that to happen. His father was too crafty. All they could have had were suspicions. It made him angry that they just murdered him. The Mark on his father's arm had justified the kill in the eyes of the Ministry and especially Mr. Crouch, but it didn't justify it to Severus. It was his father and he never had any chance. 

            Lily had tried to discourage him, but he had begun to change. He regreted it later, regreted what he had done to them, what he had done to sweet Lily. He could have had everything, instead he chose revenge. 

Towards the end of his sixth year he sat Lily down and told her that she could not be with him for what he had to do. For her safety, he told her that they could no longer be together. She had cried on his arm so profusely that his shoulder had felt her tears. She asked him not to get Marked, that even killing the aurors would not bring his father back. Lily had reminded him of how much he loathed his father, but it didn't matter. Wisely she said that once he had gotten his revenge, he would be giving himself to another person, lowering himself, degrading himself, allying himself with something purely evil. As Dumbledore had said to him years later, he had been a stupid, vengeful child. He had made a grave mistake.

During their seventh year, Lily came up to him in the library one day and told him that the worst thing she had ever seen in her life was him changing into what he had become. She said that he was not the Severus she had known and loved for over three years. Her soft hand touched his shoulder and told him that her heart still mourned the day that he had died and that she would always remember him and love him even though he was gone. He remembered the emotion that had tried to swell into his heart, he remembered fighting them back down, he remembered pushing her hand away. He remembered the day he packed down the dirt over his own grave. 

She reawakened a small part of him on the day of Jace's funeral. James did not come, he wouldn't, but she did. She had kissed him on the cheek and looked into his cold, black eyes. 'He would have wanted more for you,' was all that she said to him. 

He still fought everyday to keep that part of him buried. It was still there and he knew it. Recently that part of him had been there more than it ever had in a long time. Sage was tapping into it. Only two other people in his entire life had, his brother and Lily. 

His fists were clenched when he came out of the memories and stared at the fire. He closed his eyes. His biggest regret was giving up his life for revenge. He did not realize it then, but that's what he had done. He could have been married to Lily. If he had, she would still be alive. She had pleaded with him to do it, to marry her and forget about revenge. He didn't listen. He slammed his fist down on the arm of the couch. She was gone now. There was no way he could tell her he was sorry, that she had been right. She was gone because of Potter. Prince Potter. 

He had been stupid to think that she would let Voldemort kill her only son. Voldemort had found out that Severus had been in love with Lily in school and as a rare token of Voldemort's appreciation, he had offered to spare Lily for Severus because he had killed his brother. He offered to spare Lily because he had killed Jace. Severus, of course, had warned Dumbledore anyway as he was already a spy. Voldemort had killed Lily when she refused to let him have Harry. Severus cringed. She wasn't supposed to die. Had he not believed she would be okay, he would have gone there personally and tried to defend her, even if it meant that they both would die. He would have been willing to die for her to right all the wrong he had done to her. That was why he had saved Harry, because he did not want Lily to have died for nothing. It was his way of making things up to her in his mind. 

He said to himself, "You said that even though I had died that you would still mourn me, love me, and remember me. Everyday I am doing that as well, but you really are gone. I am living with the regrets you tried to warn me of. It has turned me into someone you would not have liked and I'm sorry."

            Sage sat comfortably in his room in his chair by the fire. The fire was roaring. The worn leather case was on the floor next to him. He had read everything in the case except for this, the prophecies. The writing on the sheet had disappeared after he first briefly viewed it. As he held it up now, the words reappeared. Or at least some of them did.

He was reading them intently. 

_            The Prophecies of the Great Sage and Magi, Merlin_

_            A Dark Lord shall rise, who shall try to gain limitless power through unnatural means. His symbol will be the snake. His followers will live off  death and destruction as if they need it to sustain themselves and thus they will be named._

_            The first member of the triad, the man who will sit to the right of the One of whom I will later speak, will be drawn into darkness like that of his ancestors. The blood in his viens, that of the Nag himself, will make him powerful and calculating. He will cleanse his line of evil by rejecting the Dark Lord. He will remain alone until the One comes to him. He is the man chosen to teach the One. The decendent of the Nag will have the great knowledge of Darkness that the One shall need. _

_            The second member of the triad , the man who will sit to the left of the One, will be forced into the service of the light before he is even aware. The blood in his veins, that of Fawkes, will make him loyal and courageous. He will purge the world of the dark lord for a short period to allow the One to rise. _

_            The One will bring together the blood of 3. In him, the darkness and the light will join, their powers merge. Inside of him will live powers greater than either side alone. He will join the blood of the ancients, Fawkes and Nag, and carry the blood of my line. The One will be my true heir. _

_            Everything shall revolve around the numbesr of 3 and 15. This triad will form and rise during the next time of great Darkness. _

_            The triad shall begin to rise in the One's 15th year and the rise of the Dark Lord to power once more will come after the 3rd duty. After 3 years, the One will be ready to confront his fate and face the Dark Lord. He will run a path between the Dark and the Light, the man on his right, the descendent of the Nag, will be constantly at his side. They will both be tormented by the Dark and their obligations. The man to sit on his left will, with the aid of another of my line, help from the outside. The man on his left will not be of great importance until the Last Fight. _

            The last time he had looked at the parchment there had been more writing, he was sure of it. One or more of the prophecies had not reappeared. Sage lifted his eyes from the paper. The flickering fire met his eyes. When was this time Merlin spoke of? Who was a descendent of the Nag, that ancient man who had sat on Ra's right side, who had caused terror thousands of years prior? And what was this triad thing? Could the Dark Lord be Voldemort? It could make sense read that way, but Sage couldn't be sure. And who was the One?

            Suddenly, his uncle's voice shot out of the flames.

            "Sage!"

            Sage saw his uncle's head in the fire.

            "You're ten minutes late. You have detention as well."

            The boy groaned, he had forgotten all about detention. He knew he had to go down and work with his uncle on his tutoring and training, but he had completely forgotten that his uncle had given him two nights of detention for using his powers improperly on the quidditch field. 

            "Sorry, sir. I've been reading something the headmaster gave me. I'll be down in a minute."

            Severus growled. "You're flirting with another night of detention." Then his head disappeared from the fireplace. 

            Sage reluctantly got up from his chair, closed the case, shoved his books in his bag, and left for the dungeons.

*          *            *

            Severus looked in a foul mood when Sage opened the door to the potion's classroom. Hastily Sage put down his bag and walked up to the desk. 

            "You can stay an extra half hour for your tardiness. This is something I would expect Potter to do." He handed Sage a piece of paper. "Get started on this potion. It's easy enough."

            Sage silently went to work on the potion, occasionally looking up at Severus. The potion was supposed to turn a neon orange color and be very fluid. But his uncle was right when he said that it was easy enough. Sage was finished within a half hour. 

            Severus was pleased enough with the healing draught he had Sage make, so he told him to bottle it up for the medi-witch. He looked up at his nephew.

            "Do not make being late a habit."

            "I won't, sir."

            "Good, now I want you to get my wand away from me with using your wand."

            Sage wrestled with this task for about fifteen minutes before he was finally able to will the wand to him. Severus shook his head.

            "You will do better. We will practice this until you can do it immediately."

            "Yes, sir." Sage said nodding. He knew that this ability would be very useful to him in the future. It was a skill he was very willing to practice.

            "Now, as for your detention, I think the floor could use another good cleaning. Longbottom has spilled at least twenty times since you last cleaned it, and countless other dunderheads have as well. I'll be in my office when you are finished."

            Sage watched as Severus strode quietly out. He scowled_. Not those damn floors again. He still remembered the sores on his hands and the pain in his shoulder from the last time. Sage decided that, in the future, he would have to set up some sort of alarm so that he would always make it to Severus on time. He didn't want to give the man another opportunity to make his scrub gut-ridden floors. _


	24. Sirius Black and the Shrieking Shack

Chapter 24

Sirius Black and the Shrieking Shack

                Sage was working on some more of the potions he needed to make up for the first two years he had missed. In just a year of school, he had managed to complete almost all of them. Severus told him that he was so quick because he was a natural. Severus was near him finishing up the Wolfsbane Potion. It was almost end of term and Lupin would be needing the potion that night. If the potion's smell was any indication of how it might taste, Sage was glad he was a Magi and not a Lycanthrope. Sage looked up at his uncle.

            "Sir, I'm done if you want to check this when you get a minute."

            Severus was busy stirring in some wolfsbane, which was the finishing ingredient, and he didn't even look up at Sage. "Come over here and stir this, and I will look at it."

            Sage walked over and took the huge stirring spoon from his uncle. He watched the thick potion curl around the spoon as he stirred it. Briefly, he looked up at the Potion's Master to see if what he had made measured up. The man's lips were curled slightly upwards which was always a pleasant sign. Severus felt his glance.

            "Concentrate on what you're doing." He said abruptly.

            "Sorry sir," Sage said, looking back down at the Wolfsbane.

            Severus moved around the classroom fluidly and soon was back by Sage's side with a big goblet. He ladled in some of the potion, told Sage to clean up, and went to give the potion to Lupin.

            After fifteen minutes had passed, Sage began wondering where Severus had gone. There was no way the man was making small talk with Lupin, Severus still hated him, even if Sage liked him well enough. Then a thought flew into Sage's mind. _What if Lupin had changed already?_ That very night was the full moon and it may already be out. Sage flew out of the classroom, first making sure to set the fire under the potion to a simmering mode. He took the stairs two at a time as he ran up to Lupin's office. As he ran, he got more worried that something was wrong. His body was telling him there was something wrong. His uncle had warned him that sometime prescience was not conscious and was more of a sixth sense, and he was experience that feeling of dread. He just knew something was wrong when he found the door to Lupin's office wide open.

            He stopped at the desk and looked around for any signs of what could have happened. Nothing was amiss, nothing was thrown around like it would have been if Lupin had changed. Sage was perplexed, but the drop in his stomach made him redouble his efforts to find a clue. Suddenly, his eye caught on a piece of parchment thrown facedown on the desk. Sage picked it up and looked at it. His eyes jumped open wide. There, on this map of sorts, was a bunch of dots in Hogsmead labeled Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, and Sirius Black. Sirius Black! Sage dropped that paper and ran out of the castle as fast as he could. This time he began jumping down lengths of stairs and swinging himself around the corners in the staircases.

            His heart pounded in his chest. He couldn't feel his own breathing, he was moving so fast. He cursed the fact that he could not apparate inside of the grounds. It would be so much faster if he could. He slammed into the door and out onto the grass. The ground squished beneath him as his feet pounded into it. He couldn't see anything much in the dark, other than glimmers of the full moon. His heart fell into his stomach. The potion! It was sitting on Lupin's desk, Severus didn't have it with him and Lupin was there as well. If he came outside, he would turn immediately. Sage stopped dead. He looked back and then forward. It was too late to head back. He took off toward the whomping willow again. He'd deal with Lupin once they had dealt with Sirius Black. For all he knew, Black was holding them all hostage or worse. The dots didn't say if the person was alive or not. If Sage had any wind, he would have gasped at that thought.

            His feet thundered into the ground faster and harder. Suddenly, he heard screaming in the distance, then yelling. He couldn't distinguish his uncle's voice. Then he realized something. When he had come flying out of the castle, he didn't see any of the dementors. He ran faster as he heard someone yelling Expecto Patronum! He feared the worst. He saw a big flash of light ahead of him, he saw it run around the dementors as he got closer. His heart came out of his stomach when he saw them leaving. One of them had looked about ready to give the kiss to someone. He yelled Lumos and the ground around him lit up at a radius of about 20 feet. He saw his uncle laying on the ground to his left. 

            His heart pounded back into his stomach as he ran up to him and slid onto his knees at his uncle's side coming to an abrupt halt after running so fast. He leaned in closer to him, he thought he heard the man breathing, but he had blood on his face. He put his hand over Severus' head and said Enervate! 

            Severus' eyes opened up piercingly, as if he were ready to kill.

            "Sage! What are you doing here! Where's Black? Did you kill him? If not I will and those three damn Gryffindor friends of yours."

            "Sir, sir, calm down. I didn't do anything. I just got here. What happened?"

            "Lupin was helping Black all along. He managed to get your three idiotic friends to join him in the Shrieking Shack and brought them right to Black. I caught them and they confunded your annoying, little, meddling friends and they stupified me at the same time."

            Severus jumped up and looked around. He caught the tail end of the Patronus driving the dementors away. He saw the three Gryffindors lying on the ground nearby. Sage also noticed them for the first time. He gasped and ran over to Hermione, who was nearest to him. He felt for her pulse. His hand was shaking. Finally, he felt a thump against his finger. Severus was already conjuring stretchers for them all and levitating the boys onto them. He also had a wicked and maniacal smile plastered on his face as he levitated a third body onto a stretcher. Sage knew that it had to be none other than Sirius Black.

*          *          * 

            Sage helped Severus get everyone back to the castle. Sage was standing next to Severus, watching Black passed out in a room when Dumbledore showed up. Severus proudly explained that he had apprehended Black. He also added that the meddling Gryffindors had almost fouled it all up and gotten themselves killed. He also mentioned that Dumbledore could not ignore the fact that they had been breaking all sorts of rules that were set up for their safety. Snape was adamant about Harry especially. Dumbledore told them that Fudge was on his way and that he would watch after Black. Severus turned to leave, but Sage looked up at Dumbledore.

            "Sir, can I talk to you for a minute?"

            Severus stopped and grabbed Sage by the shoulder ready to lead him out. Dumbledore, however, put up an imperious hand. "Severus, you should go and get ready for the minister's arrival. No doubt he will want to talk to you first. I wouldn't mind some company here," he said nodding in Sage's direction.

            Severus scowled at his nephew and gave him a warning look. Eventually, he left. Sage looked back up at Dumbledore. The headmaster looked very worn and very serious, but also very open to whatever Sage wanted to tell him. 

            "Sir, er, I don't think Sirius Black is bad." Sage looked down. He knew he sounded mad.

            But Dumbledore just looked at him curiously, "And why not?"

            "Well, you know how I get sick from my visions. I also get sick whenever I am around evil or when something evil is about to happen. I even get sick around my Uncle Malfoy. But, the strange thing is, I don't feel sick now and I've been around him for at least a half and hour. Sir, I'm sure I would feel sick if he was really one of Voldemort's followers."

            Dumbledore rubbed his chin and nodded. "Is there anything else?" He knew Sage was holding back to see what his reaction would be.

            "Yes sir. My uncle told me about how Black was muttering about Peter Pettigrew and a rat, and how Pettigrew was an animagus. He claimed that Peter was Ron's rat Scabbers. That Pettigrew had framed him and that Pettigrew had betrayed the Potters. It just came to me a short while ago, but all year during my visions and dreams I have seen a green rat and a snake. Earlier today, Harry and Ron told me that Professor Trelawney had a vision and her voiced changed and she said 'the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master' Then it all came together in my head: Pettigrew was the green rat, green because he is a Death Eater; the snake, Voldemort; the snake and the rat joined in my vision. Sir, if it's true he has set out to rejoin Voldemort. Black is innocent I'm sure of it. I just didn't want to say so in front of my uncle for, well, obvious reasons." 

            Dumbledore sighed and adjusted his glasses. He closed his eyes in thought and then looked to the unconscious body of Sirius Black. 

            "Your reasons are quite compelling Mr. Snape. I too am perplexed by the fact that you are fine near Black, when you should be very ill. You interpretation of your visions, coupled with Trelawney's prediction, are also curious. Let us enervate Mr. Black and see what he has to say."

*          *          *

            Severus was startled when Sage came running into the hospital wing where Severus was talking to the Minister. Harry and Hermione had just exclaimed that Black was innocent when Sage entered. Severus protested that they had been confunded by Black. The minister seemed to agree. Sage felt that he had to try and stop it. Black was innocent. He jumped in between the two of them.

            "Minister, sir, they're right. Black is innocent!"

            Severus' eyes darted onto Sage, "Silence, boy!"

            "But, sir, you know that I get sick around people shrouded in evil or before something evil is about to happen. I've been around Black for over a half and hour and I'm fine!"

            Harry yelled, "See, we told you!"

            "Shut-up Potter."

            "Now, Snape, the boy's been through a lot."

            Snape growled in response. Sage persisted, "Black said that Pettigrew's an animagus and that he turned into a rat. That Pettigrew framed him. I've been having visions all year, uncle, about snakes and rats. About Voldemort and Pettigrew."

            "I said SILENCE NOW!"

            "No, I can't let a school grudge let a man be worse than killed, uncle. You're making a mistake. Black is innocent. Just listen to me!"

            "NO MORE!"

            "You've got the wrong man, Pettigrew is probably going to Voldemort as we speak. You can't let the dementors have him Minister. My uncle is wrong."

            Severus smacked him mightily. "Stay out of this," he yelled. Sage grabbed him cheek. Dumbledore came in finally and stopped next to Sage, eying him with concern. In just a moment he had put together what had happened.

            Sage looked to him, "Headmaster, you can't let them do this. Merlin, he's innocent!"

            Severus grabbed him by the collar. "One more word out of you and I'll curse you into next week. You are in enough trouble as it stands."

            His hair fell into his face as he looked down. Sage knew his uncle was going to be really angry about what he had said. Also, it had apparently not done any good. Even Dumbledore seemed to not think a fight was worth it. Finally, his uncle left with the Minister, but not before telling him that they were going to have words later that night. 

            He stared up at Dumbledore, just as Harry and Hermione were. They were already rambling off their story, saying that Sirius was innocent, and asking him to do something. Even Sage was hoping that Dumbledore, who always had answers, would be able to save Black. It seemed not likely as he shook his head and said he did not have the power and that there was no evidence. 

            He left if up to Harry and Hermione to save Black, and Sage was left crossing his fingers with the headmaster in the hallway outside of the hospital wing.


	25. Defiance

Chapter 25

Defiance

            Dumbledore had believed Sirius, especially after what Sage had told him. Dumbledore was an old and wise enough wizard to respect Sage's powers. With his knowledge of Black's innocence, he could not let the man receive the Kiss. He had known Black for a long time before Harry's parents were killed, and while he was a trouble maker and irresponsible, he had a good heart. He was also Harry's Godfather. 

            Needless to say the headmaster was quite pleased when Harry and Hermione were successful in helping Black and Buckbeak escape from Hogwarts. Sage was happy too. He knew Black was innocent and it wasn't fair for him to be railroaded, even if his uncle did have a grudge against him. The man had already suffered enough, being in Azkaban for so long. 

            Sage was sitting with Harry, Ron, and Hermione telling them about his visions and how he knewBlack was innocent when Severus came flying in. He wasn't even completely through the door when he began yelling about Harry and his friends having something to do with Black's escape. Of course the minister was having none of Snape's accusations. But Severus was maniacal, madder than Sage had ever seen him, and that was saying something. He looked ready to devour the Gryffindors. Dumbledore finally came in after hearing him yelling.

            "Potter, you helped him escape! By Gods Potter, I swear I'll have your neck for this!"

            Dumbledore interjected that the three students had not left the hospital wing. Poppy confirmed that they had not left. Sage nodded and looked at his uncle.

            "Sir, I've been here the entire time," he lied. He had come back with Dumbledore in time to let Harry and Hermione back in the room. But it appeared he had been there the entire time.

            "Silence!"

            "Severus, calm down," the headmaster said, putting a hand on him.

            Severus swatted it off in indignation. After a completely harrowing five minutes Snape finally stalked out. Sage sat with the three others in the hospital wing hoping he had escaped his uncle's anger for the night. He's be better off if he did not see his uncle until the next day, especially after he contradicted him like that. Severus would be fuming about that. On top, Black had escaped. He wasn't sure his uncle would even be able to control his anger. Sage did not want to be in front of it to find out.

*          *          *

            Severus slammed the door to his office. His own damn family, his own nephew, had stood against him. Sage did not even have an excuse like the Gryffindors, Sirius Black had definitely not confunded Sage, not unless he managed it right under the headmaster's nose. Regardless of the danger of it for Sage's future, the boy should have been put in Slytherin! The only reason the hat had not was because of its possible consequences for a young Magi. Sage had come with all the qualities of a Slytherin and now he had intermingled with those meddling, annoying Gryffindors, and he was turning in to a disconcerting mix between the two houses. It was the typical Gryffindor lack of control and respect that angered Severus. The boy had to learn when to keep his mouth shut. He had been crossing the lines between respect and disrespect with discouraging frequency.  

            Severus paced back and forth across the room, his robes swishing about around him. He crossed his arms and snarled. 

            He had lost the Order of Merlin because of the meddling of a bunch of teenagers, and the headmaster had not shown any sign of being displeased with the matter, Severus knew Dumbledore and he had recognized the look on the man's face. Nobody else saw triumph, but he had. After all he had done for the man he believed a convict and a bunch of teenagers over him. He had seen Black, he had seen Lupin trying to protect him. Hell, Granger never would have stupefied him if she had not been confuded, the girl was too proper for that, or at least she was too much of a sycophant. No, stunning a professor would have fallen under that girl's rules not to be broken list. She might follow Potter and Weasley, but she never put more than one foot out of line, much less throwing her whole body out of line. Severus growled in anger. He had risked his life many times over and Dumbledore had no gratitude. He had no gratitude that Severus had agreed to take on and teach the boy, even if it was his own nephew. 

            He continued stalking back and forth, his fluid movements making no sound against the floor. The only sound in the room was his snarling or growling. 

            Worst of all, he had gotten so angry, he had let himself betray his emotions. He had made himself look crazed, but he wasn't. Why couldn't any one else see what a trouble that Potter boy was. He was as impudent as James, and he would drag his friends into just as much trouble. Just like James had. If only the boy had more of Lily in him, more wisdom, more reservation, more sense. If only someone had cultivated that in him, instead of giving him a big head by making him some sort of celebrity. It was not as if Potter had done anything himself to make the Dark Lord fall, it was sheer luck, actually it was Lily. Lily was the smart one. Potter probably just sat there staring at the Dark Lord's wand, drooling all over himself. That did not deserve celebrity status! If Dumbledore did not allow the boy such liberties,  maybe he would be more like Lily, maybe he would learn. Severus ground his teeth together. "Ergh."

            His mind dismissed Potter and traveled back to Sage. That boy certainly had no reason to act so stupid, so impudent, it wasn't in him. He could have grabbed him by his thin neck and thrown him straight out of the hospital wing. Severus had more sense than that, but he couldn't help his fantasies. If only it were ethical to treat children that way when they were disobedient. But he remembered what it was like to be treated that way, and he knew it was not the right way from first hand experience. An able mind could inspire any emotion without using brute, uncontrolled violence. He was determined to do so. A couple of slaps here and there, a well deserved lecture, the withdrawl of certain privelidges, and the assignment of less than desireable duties worked so well for him. Sage would be sorry. He was probably already sorry for his cheek. Sage was smart enough to know when he acted badly, unlike Potter who had no remorse. But his nephew's voice kept resounding in his head, saying that he, Severus Snape, was wrong. That he, Sage, knew better. Than in the whole of an hour of being around Black, he knew the man was innocent. Severus knew Black, he knew Black. He had seen Black capable of murder at the age of sixteen, and Black had shown no remorse then. He thought murder was a joke. Sage did not know Black. 

            The stupid boy, he would scare him tomorrow. He would stare at him until he wanted to run away. He would talk poisonously. 

            He clenched his fists tightly and pursed his lips. He would not have his own nephew behave that way. 

*          *          *

            Severus found him during the afternoon the next day and dragged him by the arm all the way from the Great Hall down to the dungeons. Sage's arm was numb because his uncle's grip had cut off his circulation. His uncle let go of his arm at the door of his office. Sage stood by the door, as far away from Severus as he could get.

            "If you ever speak against me again, you will be sorry that I ever took you in."

            Severus said this so coldly, so poisonously, that Sage was rattled. The man had not even raised his voice. In fact, it was in more of a whisper, but it was worse than a yell. He knew that Severus would be angry, he had expected it. He knew that they would eventually get passed it, they always did, but then next few days, or weeks, would be hard.

            "Yes, sir, I don't know what came over me."

            Sage's fear showed on his pale face and the way that he stood so closely to the door. He hoped that he could placate Snape slightly if he was extremely respectful and seemingly penitent. Sometimes that ploy worked, although Severus saw through it with about as much frequency. 

            "When I tell you to do something, you will do it. Apparently this was not clear, is it clear now?"

            Sage's black hair lay in contrast to his paling skin. Severus was sure that all of the color had drained from it. The boy had come expecting yelling. Severus smiled to himself, he knew that this method would be far worse.

            "Yes, sir." The boy answered, swallowing.

            The tall man came right up to him and looked down at him. Sage could feel his angry breaths.

            "You had better not step out of line anytime soon."

            "I won't, sir."

            He did not like Severus to be mad at him, much less mad enough to punish him. He wasn't planning on stepping out of line again anytime soon. It was not as if it had been on the top of his priority list to begin with. He wished that he did not know Black was innocent, because other than that he had no allegiances to the man. He could have cared less if he did not know that the man had suffered enough already. It took a lot for him to disregard his uncle or disobey him. Snape was an intimidating man. Sage had seen the brunt of his anger before and those few times made him not want to see it again. The most powerful weapon Severus had against Sage was that he was all Sage had, and if he disowned him, he wouldn't have anybody. He also believed that his uncle was a good man and deserved to be respected. It was a combination of things that made Sage want to please him and respect him. Severus preyed upon these things, he knew his nephew well. They were cut from similar cloth.


	26. The True Meaning of Merlin's Prophecy

Chapter 26

The Meaning of Merlin's Prophecy

Talk about a horrible detention! Sage's hands were pruned, tingly, and squishy. He rubbed them on his robes trying to get them back to normal. His face was all scrunched up with a look of disgust. First, scrubbing out all the cauldrons without magic. Then, scrubbing off the splatters on the walls. Finally, disembowling wet, slimy repiles. The combination had left his hands blistered and pruned. They also emanated a most putrid smell. So much for him asserting Black's innocence. He should have never said a word! Snape had been making him pay quite a premium price for opening his mouth. He spent any time that he was not in class in his uncle's office doing work or in his classroom doing odd jobs or helping with first and second year classes. It was the closest thing to grounding him that Severus could manage. No free time was an understatement. Torture was also an understatement. 

            The professor had not stopped giving him an earful about Black or his Gryffindor friends either. His disapproval was quite apparent. Sage wanted to please him, he wanted things to return to normal, but that did not seem to be happening any time soon. 

            His mind had been circling around one thing: the leather case and the prophecies. He hadn't really looked at them much since he had finally read the prophecies, but he had done some research on ancient egyptian wizards and witches. He had been particularly interested in the man called Nag. The first member of the triad was descended from him so it was logical to start there. All he had been able to find out was that the line of that man, bore the name Nag, obviously enough. In the anglo world it had become the english word for Nag: Snake. After that, he could not figure out what had happened. The line simply disappeared. Somewhere in his mind, he remembered coming across something like this before, but he couldn't remember where. 

            He had to work on the assumption that the time of the Dark Lord was the time he was in, even though for all he knew it could have been in the past or could be in the future. Voldemort was dark enough. The One could be Dumbledore, afterall he was the only wizard the Dark Lord feared. That would make sense, but it did not seem to be right. He was closer to figuring out something about the first member, the third member was the most enigmatic, or that's what he thought.

            Nag. Snake, he thought. How am I supposed to know who the descendent is if I can find no trace of the line?

            He absentmindedly said the password to the portrait and stepped inside. His shoes clicked against he stone entryway and then padded against the carpet. He did not hear a word or notice anything as he proceeded directly to his room. He said Lumos without realizing it and was greeted by light. He pulled the case away from his trunk and opened it up. Its musty smell met his nose once again. He reached into the dusty interior and pulled out the scroll that talked about Ra and Nag. Maybe he could find some clue in there. He began to read, clutching the rough, old parchment in his moist fingers. 

_Beside him always was the one that the Nag were named after, the man who was called by no other name but Nag, Egyptian for "the snake". He too was as frightening to the people as Ra. His face ghostly white, unhuman looking, his hair as black as his empty eyes, his ornamentation a large black cobra's head that spanned from his shoulders and ended with the fangs of the snake just over his forehead. Nag himself was said to have fangs. He had grown up with the pharaoh and had learned of his powers. Nag always knew that one day he would be beside Ra and would exploit those powers to their gain. Nag was the only man that Ra would speak to, but it was said that Ra's voice was such a torment itself that it sounded like an unhuman rasp that could pierce the eardrums._

_ Nag had gained supporters for Ra early in their youth, Ra named them The Order of the Nag, or The Nag as was common. The Nag were all dark wizards who bore the mark of the all seeing eye on their left bicep. They held meetings amongst fire and asps in the catacombs, where Nag would tell them the word of Ra. The Nag would bring their leader and connection to the God Ra a sacrifice, a woman. Nobody spoke of how the sacrifice was performed or of how Nag killed her, but the Order never dared to defy him or their God and Pharaoh Amun Ra. They would then go forth and bring down Ra's wrath on all those unworthy. They conquered all of Egypt and enslaved millions of people. Enslaved those who were considered beneath them, people who were not capable of any wizardry. _

            He reread the words, searching. The second time he read it, another sentence seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. It was as if the scroll knew he needed help, as if the scroll itself was speaking to him.

            _The Nag walked in silence, he was everywhere. His movements were so fluid, none could see them. His stare could petrify a man's heart right in his chest. The followers swore that Nag could hear their thoughts and read their characters. His face knew little emotion but conveyed an active and calculating mind. He was feared by all, especially by those who knew his commanding and intimidating presence. Nag towered over any man in height, and his large, black eyes were forever staring down at the followers, those Ra had named after him. _

            Sage's heart began pounding fast and hard. That description, he was sure, had not been there before. It sounded so familiar, its description. His body knew it before his mind did, but his mind was not far behind. Fluid movements, walked in silence, people thought he could hear their thoughts, his face showed little emotion, calculating. Sage's heartbeat steadily got faster as the realization dawned on him. The description fit his uncle. It fit his uncle perfectly, even the physical description. His Uncle Severus? His mind was reeling_. Severus. Merlin! Severus Snape. Snape. Snake. Gods! How did I miss it all this time! But, but it, it can't be. My uncle isn't like that, that thing, that man, Nag. He's, he's not evil, he isn't dark. Ohh. Ohh Merlin._ "He will cleanse his line of evil by rejecting the Dark Lord." _Woah, wait a minute. It is now. It is Voldemort. But, but who are the other two members._ His heart jumped several beats. He lost his breath. His thoughts pressed down on his chest and constricted upon him. Words from the prophecies suddenly flooded back to him. They played in his head like a recording, and he was an unwilling and captive listener. Nausea rose in him and bile boiled up his esophagus.

            He grabbed the scroll with the prophecies on them. As he began to skim to the proper part, more writing materialized before his eyes. He read, he consumed. His eyes travelling with rapid speed.

            His heart was racing so fast, his vision began to swim, his hearing began to dim, he felt as if he was about to faint. Anger rose up inside of him like nothing he had ever known. Fear, fear fell onto him like a blanket. It was all too much. It was all lies. Everything he had know. The truth, it had been written. Now he knew. It was all out of his control. Sage had never felt such emotion before in his life. His field of vision narrowed and the outskirts started to become black. He knew he was going to pass out. His stomach was turning on him, he couldn't even sit straight. 

            His hand fell heavily and limply into his lap. Black dots began to consume the remaining length of his vision. Pain broke into his head like an infestation. The last thing he felt was the leather of his chair meeting with the side of his head as he fell over. 


	27. The Gryffindor Party

Chapter 27

The Gryffindor Party

Sage had changed in the two weeks since he passed out cold after figuring out what Merlin's prophecies meant. Everybody seemed to notice the change, but did not know why, and Sage was not about to change that. His stomach was constantly aching and his appetite small. Sage wouldn't even accompany the team out to play quidditch. All he seemed to do was read or stare into the fire lifelessly. His icey blue eyes, which had come to life in the months he had spent at Hogwarts, had glazed over again. His mood was sour and his temper short.

He had snapped at Hermione quite a few times when the girl asked him to help her with new spells, and his apologies were quiet and lackluster. Harry had stopped asking him to go for rides on their brooms. Ron had stopped asking him to play chess. It seemed as if he was reverting back to what he was prior to coming to Hogwarts, and even Snape was no longer used to that. Severus had grown more accustomed to Sage being similar to Jace, rather than similar to himself.

* * *

Sage bottled the rest of the acid green potion he had been brewing for Severus. His body moved smoothly, but mechanically, and his face was blank. Severus had watched his nephew work the entire time. He could not figure what had happened that had changed the boy. It could not have been his detention. He raised his eyebrow as Sage looked up at him.

"I'm finished sir, may I go now?"

Severus stood up from his seat behind his desk and walked up to boy. He frowned. Something had to be going on. Was the boy having visions he wasn't telling him about? Was he having prophetic dreams again?

"I'd like for you to help me with something first."

Sage's facial expression did not change. Not even a trace of frustration showed on it.

"No offense, uncle, but I'm not feeling very well and I'm very tired. May I please go?"

Severus sighed and stared at Sage deeply. He tried to read him but could not, not a trace of a thought, not a trace of an emotion. He turned his back and his robes swished as he moved. He waved his hand in dismissal, not looking back as his nephew. Had Sage seen his face, he would have seen it plastered with concern. The way Sage was behaving also aggravated him because he could not quite figure out what was going on. It was not as if Sage was doing anything wrong, because he was not. Severus could not be angry, but he knew that Sage was not sick or tired.

* * *

Sage flew into the Gryffindor common room, his gaze directly forward. He did not acknowledge anybody at all. He just wanted to get into his room, take a dreamless sleep potion and fade into nothingness.

When a hand touched him, his eyes flung to his side, his gaze piercing.

Hermione jumped when they met hers. They were so blank and lifeless, but yet so accusing. As if he was secretly cursing her for stopping him in his tracks. His pupils were so dialated that the blue in his eyes showed only little.

He moved the hand away gently, closed his eyes, sighed, and walked away. As angry as he was with the world, as sick as he felt, as much as he tried to hide his fear, he could not be mean to her. He could be blank, but even that made him feel sad.

When his hand met his door handle, his mind was already starting to melt away into oblivion. During those few weeks, he had managed to sneek away. Sneek away from the school and get something to make him feel better. Something in addition to his sleeping potion. Apparation powers were a good thing. He threw his bag off his shoulder and sat down in the chair next to the fire. Instantly, flames engulfed the wood and warmth met his face. He knew what would make him feel better. A faint smirk crossed his face. He would pose the idea of a party to his fellow Gryffindor's the next day. It would be a time that he could unwind. Unwind without wanting to be alone. If everyone else was wasted too, they wouldn't ask him questions, or be otherwise annoying.

* * *

Clear plastic cups with a light blue, almost turqoise, liquid inside of them were floating all around the Gryffindor common room attached to a hoarde of young teenagers. Along with these were cups of amber, filled with Bass or Harps. Music was blaring from no place in particular and everyone was being obnoxiously loud. Ginny Weasley was furiously slapping her brothers, Fred and George, all over their arms, backs, and where ever else she could hit while they were trying to run away from her. They had turned her hair into a big pink afro. Ron was laughing hysterically at the whole scene and at how his new friend had managed to rid them of Percy and the other prefects for the night. They would be leaving tomorrow to go home and this was 'A Farewell Party'.

Of course no one protested having such a party, since they didn't tell the prefects, and someone was able to procure all the items they would need to throw a party much to the dismay of many students. Most of them had never been to a real party before and were immensely enjoying themselves and getting toasted in the process. Even Hermione seemed to be loosening up and had her own cup.

Sage was in the middle of teaching them a drinking game he had learned while hanging out in muggle London once before coming to Hogwarts. They were sitting in a circle and each of them had a bunch of playing cards and they had to balance a card on top of a beer can each turn. The cards were finally mounting up, the catch being that the cards couldn't be flush on top of each other, so it was beginning to rather look like a mushroom. Harry, beer in one hand, aimmed to put his card on the right side of the mushroom. It all looked well for about two seconds before the cards came flying down. By now everyone had the hang of the game and was yelling, "Chug, chug, chug," as Harry threw back his beer in defeat. Hermione gracefully placed her card on top of the can, followed by Sage, then Ron, and the game continued as the other ten people followed. Neville by far ended up downing the most beer because of his clumsiness.

As they tired of playing the drinking game, Sage took out a new object from his pocket. He flipped the top open, put one end in his mouth, lit its contents with his mind, and sucked in its burning warmth. He took his mouth off of it. They watched him as he closed his eyes, inhaled more to pull down the smoke, and held his breath. He hadn't really said much all night other than to teach them the drinking game at the behest of Oliver Wood who had heard they were roaring fun. Many people were carrying around cigarettes, but nobody had ever seemed to have seen someone smoking what Sage was smoking. He let out a whirl of thick smoke.

"Is that what I think it is, Sage?" Hermione asked. Her mouth was agape slightly is surprise, but she didn't seem to be too opposed, which surprised Ron and Harry a great deal. Hermione was getting more and more lax about rule breaking, because of Ron and Harry most likely.

Sage nodded, his entire face looking relaxed for the first time in a few days. He'd had a strange sort of demeanor the last few days and had been rather sarcastic, stoical, and closed as well. "Yeah, do you want to try?" He answered.

Hermione's face froze. Sage could see the battle forging in her mind.

"Oi, I will, how do I do it?"

Sage turned to face Ron, who was on his other side, and said, "Here, put this end in your mouth and I'll light it. The draw on it, um, suck it in. It might burn a bit but try not to cough it out, hold on to it, or else you'll waste it and not feel anything."

Everyone gaped at Ron as he tried, somewhat successfully. He was able to hold down the smoke for a whole 30 seconds before coughing miserable, engulfing his head in a cloud of smoke. Sage smirked. Ron handed it back to Sage as his lungs rebelled against him. Wood tried next, and given the fact he had smoked cigarettes before, did much better than Ron did, although he also seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by the density of the smoke. It certainly was different than a cigarette and much more difficult to keep down. After Wood, Harry had the courage enough to reach for it, encouraged by the blanket of alcohol he had bathing his brain. Sage looked nearly maniacal as he lit it for his cousin and watched him take a hit. Harry sputtered once, but then kept the rest down for nearly a minute. Sage nodded in approval.

He was finally beginning to feel better, his mind was numb, everything seemed so light and even comical. His body was no longer tense like it had been the past few days. The confusion, the anger, and the fear seeped away from his body and left his thoughts. He was rid of them for the moment. His high was mello but satisfying. It loosened him up, made him feel a little more open, and took away some of his well ingrained inhibitions.

Repeatedly, he lit the pipe for various people with his mind. It was so simple for him to focus on that one thing and he felt himself completely taken over by watching the red embers burn the dried up leaves in the bowl. Finally, Hermione took it reluctantly, perhaps giving in to peer pressure and tried it. This time Sage's focus turned to her face as her lips touched the pipe, he watched her hand tremble at the idea of what she was doing. She pulled with her mouth on the end of the pipe to draw the smoke into her mouth, her cheeks flushed with alcohol already. He barely saw her chest rise as the smoke travelled to her lungs. She managed to keep it down without choking, but released it very quickly. It swirled around Sage's face. Sage took another hit and passed it around again.

Harry abruptly exclaimed, "Oi, somebody nicked my beer!"

Before long the room echoed with laughter and yells and merriment as the majority of Gryffindor students were either drunk, high, or both. Suddenly, Ron slapped Sage on the shoulder and said, "What do you want to bet that I could snog Katie Bell right now?"

Sage's eyebrows went up and his lips curled sadistically as he said, "I'll take the bet. How about if I lose I do what you want, if you lose you do what I want." Ron was so totally gone, Sage knew Ron would accept those terms even though any sober person would have been wary.

"Sure mate." He walked off to the girl in question.

Within a minute a resounding slap was heard as Katie screamed, "Get away from me Ron Weasley! Stop trying to slabber on me!"

Everybody roared with laughter and Sage informed Ron as to what he wanted him to do. Every eye was on Ron as his face was suddenly overcome by a look of pure horror. He was as red as a tomato. Dejectedly, he went upstairs. Hermione plopped down on the couch next to Sage and handed him another drink as he put the pipe up to his mouth again and mentally lit it. He passed it to her again and was overcome once more by the sight of her lips meeting the wood of the pipe. It was an ornately carved piece of mohagany that was smaller than a tobacco pipe, with a piece of wood jointed to the end that popped over the bowl to cover it when not in use. She handed it back to him, brushing his hand accidentally as she went. The touch fired up his arm, a barage of impulses invading his nervous system.

"You are looking better," she said, "You've been a little out of spirits lately."

He nodded, not knowing what to say. If he had known he had been betraying his mood so easily to those around him, he would have tried to hide it more. Even now he felt exposed, especially to her.

"I'm glad," she said again glancing up into his blue eyes.

He brushed his hair away from his temples, "Me too." He lifted the pipe again.

"I'm glad you came here."

She was drifting so fast from one subject to the next without making any sort of a segway that a sober person would have found the logic confusing. But to her, and to Sage, it was perfectly sensical. His mind was swirling in pleasure and it all seemed to flow to him. Hermione was all too aware of her senses, which were so alert, she was receiving all kinds of messages to her brain. The soft, silky sound of his deep voice, the whispers of smoke drifting by her face and neck. The way the cushions of the couch were tilted in his direction because of his weight, pulling her towards him. The look of his arms pressing out at the hem of the sleeves of his long-sleeved black shirt and the way his chest tapered down into his lean waist. Just the way the black shirt contrasted with the khaki color of his pants intrigued her.

"I'm glad you're here," he ventured. He turned his head to her, "Glad you're right here." He indicated vaguely to her position next to him.

Everything faded from her awareness except for him, her head was airy, her eyes kept blinking, her body was warm. The alcohol and the smoke were getting to her. She felt like nothing mattered, like reality was fading, as if she were in a dream. She reached up and took the pipe out of his hand and placed it gently on the table in front of them. He glared at her. Her eyes were so big and warm. Nobody had ever looked at him like that. Their eyes looked onto one another and he felt like they were alone in a dark room, away from all of his problems. Soon, he could feel her breath on his face and neck and he couldn't remember who had moved, her or him. His hand was buried in her hair as they continued to stare at each other. His lips were parted and he closed them around her pouty lower lip. Their silkiness enveloped his lips and he felt their warmth reverberate throughout his body. All sound was lost to him, all sight as well, he didn't realize when he closed his eyes but he had. Both of his hands were on her now, one cradling her right ear and jawbone, the other on her shoulder. He felt one of hers vaguely playing with his black hair, but his focus only allowed him to attend to her kiss. He let himself go fully as their kiss became more passionate. He didn't feel a need for air. Her mouth tasted sweet like warm milk with honey. They bodies moved closer almost of their own accord.

Neither noticed Harry cat-calling and hooting or Ron stopped dead at the end of the stairs. Sage didn't get to enjoy the site of what he had asked Ron to do for losing their bet. The red-hair boy was wearing one of Ginny's dark green dresses and it clung to his body like spandex because he was a lot bigger than her. Not only did Sage not care, but he didn't even remember where he was. All he knew is he was lost in her mouth and uncapable of processing anything else.

Hermione grabbed at his arm, encouraging him to move closer. No one could tell, as he was often buried underneath his robes, but his arms were toned and of a good size. Most of the girls had remarked about how Sage's arms looked better than even Wood's in his fitted black shirt, but that was nothing compared to feeling them and feeling the muscles move as he moved his hand behind her back. She knew that she was running her fingers through his silky hair, but she couldn't focus on that. Her mind was suffocated by the smell of him - a combination of spice and citrus.

* * *

Professor McGonagall was startled awake by a strange sound filling the area of the castle around her rooms. She was groggy and at first feared that it was Sirius Black as she heard pounding. Reality dawned on her as she heard uncontrolled laughter, bangs, and music. Never in her years had she ever heard anything like it. Hurriedly, she pulled on her robes on top of her nightgown and rushed to the fire. She hoped that Severus would be working in his lab and have his fire going to heat his potions. She knew that Remus would have his on as his rooms were abnormally drafty. She through the powder down into the flames of her fireplace.

"Remus! Severus! Come up to Gryffindor immediately. I have a situation I may need your help with."

Before long a pissed off, glaring, stalking Snape stopped around the corner from the Gryffindor tower where Lupin and McGonagall were waiting for him. His eyebrow popped up as he heard the music blaring from the dormitories and the wild laughter. He understood why Minerva had called the two of them. This was no regular party. Either the were being extraordinarily wild or were engaging in something they shouldn't be.

"Well?" He asked roughly, "What are we waiting for, an invitation?"

His black eyes narrowed as he strode up to the Fat Lady and growled the password, his hands tight in fists. McGonagall and Lupin were right behind him. They were glad he took the lead, because, although neither would admit it, they didn't have any idea what to do.

The door flapped open and they suddenly became aware that more than they feared was going on. Smoke met their noses instantly. Severus recognized cigarettes because he had smoked for a few months in his youth, but then he recognized something he normally smelt coming from certain potions. Cannibis? He thought. Gods, a room full of high Gryffindors! They will wet themselves with fear when we walk in.

The first thing the three professors notice was all the blue and brown liquids being drunk by the young students, next that over a third of them were smoking, third was Ron Weasley in a green dress, and fourth was at least six pairing of students who were in dire need of hotel rooms.

Severus' blood almost boiled out his ears when he finally sighted Sage, snogging the Granger girl, with a pipe sitting in front of him along with two glasses of some alcoholic beverage. His head pounded with anger. He clenched his fists so tightly that he could no longer feel his fingers. Was the boy that stupid?

"SILENCE!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs.

The students, who suddenly became aware of the presence of the professors all gasped. Glasses dropped, some students tried to hide their cigarettes. Others stammered in fear. Sage immediately pulled away from Hermione and tried to put some distance between them, hoping nobody noticed. Reality had come back to him, slamming him hard in the face. He was aware that his head was pounding, his heart racing, and his world moving on its own.

McGonagall stepped forward and stood next to a glowering Professor Snape. He was throwing death stares all around and especially at the couch his nephew was sharing.

"In all my years, I have never seen something such as this! This is disgraceful. My own students," She said coldly. Her face was so stern and sour that many mouths dropped wide open. Some of the students began to move back away from the professors.

"WHO, is responsible for this?" Severus yelled. 


	28. The Aftermath

Chapter 28

The Aftermath

The students stared blankly at Snape, still in shock. "I said, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS? NOOOWWWWWW!"

Everyone jumped. Sage pushed himself back further against the couch, he had nowhere to retreat to, he was trapped. Students were all looking around. Some were staring at him, wondering if they should turn him in, or apologizing for the fact that he was going to get turned in.

"BY MERLIN, WHO STARTED THIS! WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?"

Sage swallowed hard, he could feel the floor start to shake under him. His body was tingling. He had never been so afraid in his entire life. He uncle looked rabid, ready to destroy. He stood up. Severus' eyes fell on him because of the movement he had made.

"I, I am," he managed to get out. He stumbled. Suddenly a great gasp of wind blew across his face and over the room. The floor began to tremble even more, something akin to a small earthquake. Glasses feel onto the floor and shattered. Sage's fists were clenched. He didn't know what was happening, but he had some idea that he was causing it. He could see Snape moving at him menacingly. The tremors worsened. The walls began to shake, students were falling to the floor all over the place, everyone started screaming.

"Severus, do something," Lupin finally said.

"What? What would you like me to do?"

McGonagall was finally losing her cool as she answered for Remus, "Stupefy him, petrify him, what does it matter, stop this all."

Sage's head was swimming. He was feeling sick. His blue eyes met with his uncle's dark ones.

"Stupefying won't work, Minerva, the powers that are coming out of him are too strong, he doesn't even know what is happening. Only something stronger."

"Do it Snape, by Gods, just do it," Remus yelled back at the potion's master.

"Minerva, Lupin, I am doing this for everybody's good and not for any dark purpose, do you agree?"

They stared at him. They weren't very good at it.

Sage's head was reeling. His eyes were burning. Severus saw it, saw his eyes, saw that ethereal look and knew he had to act fast.

"We don't have time, what do you say?" He growled to the two other professors.

"Do it Severus. Before someone gets badly hurt!"

Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Sage. At the top of his lungs he yelled in his deep voice, "Imperio!" as he stepped forward and sent the Unforgiveable spell at his nephew.

Sage was caught in a whirlwind suddenly and felt his surroundings melt. His body felt heavy. In the distance he heard a voice telling him to calm down, stop what he was doing, close his eyes, and walk forward. His mind was so swamped with alcohol and marijuana that he had no will to fight it and he submitted. He was weak, he staggered as he tried to walk, he nearly fell to the ground with exhaustion. Whatever he had just done had taken everything out of his already taxed system.

A few minutes, or maybe seconds later, he heard his uncle's voice say something and the world came flying back to him. Severus had lifted the Imperius Curse, he knew it was no longer needed, Sage was now too weak to do any real damage. A matter or minutes of uncontrolled magical power had rendered him defenseless and physically weak.

Sage looked up and he tried to step back as Severus stalked up to him with Lupin right behind. McGonagall was already yelling at the other students. The man looked so large and more intimidating than he ever had before. His snarl was vicious. Before he even saw it coming he felt the impact and sting on his left cheek as his uncle gave him a back-handed slap. He stumbled backwards, hit the wall, and fell to the floor. His arm caught the floor first and held up his upper body, protecting his head from smacking into the floor. A large, pale hand, grabbed his hair and arm and yanked him up off the floor. He fought back the desire to empty his stomach all over, almost more from fear than drunkeness. Another hand clasped around his other arm, digging into his bicep. His head reeled. Beads of sweat rolled down his brow.

"Lupin, he's harmless now. Help Minerva, then you both will meet me downstairs. I can take him from here."

The digging fingers released his arm and he suddenly became aware of the jerking, pulling, and tugging on his hair. He reached a hand up to the source. Suddenly his body was thrown forward and through he portrait hole. The force of his body going forward was too much for him to stop and his head banged up against the stone wall. He could hear Severus growling and grinding his teeth. Before his head had fully rebounded from the impact, the older wizard grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him forward again.

"Stop, I'm coming." He slurred, trying to grab at his hair.

"If you wish to see tomorrow, I would HOLD YOUR TONGUE!" Snape's nose was flaring with anger.

Sage couldn't see where he was going and before they had made it very far, he tripped and almost toppled over straight onto his face. Severus grabbed the boy's arm again and hoisted him up. Sage could see the floor passing under him and it was beginning to make him sick.

His world was still moving when his uncle threw him into his office and stood glowering over him. Sage was buckled over.

"You brought alcohol here? You brought Cannibis here? I'm going to-" He inhaled sharply, "You are going to be sorry, boy."

Sage didn't respond. His black hair was flapping over his forehead, two tufts of it, one falling over each eyebrow and over his eyes. He stood up, his eyes red and glazed.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Severus yelled down into his face.

Sage put a hand over his ear and Severus was barely able to make out the words, "Fuck off. Don't yell at me."

Severus grabbed his arm and his hair again and pulled him straight up. He pulled on Sage's thick black hair, until their eyes met.

"What did you just say," he snarled.

The alcohol and smoke was heavy on his breath and his words were thick and heavy as if his stomach were churning itself apart. "I, I said. fuck off."

The look on Severus' face was enough to make most normal people shake, but Sage just swayed with hisw buzz. Severus slapped him again, seemingly intent on slapping the sense back into him.

Sage caught himself with his hand on the wall, his mouth open. He put his other hand up to his other cheek. He was leaning down again, his face looking to the floor. His breathing was heavy and labored. If he was with his senses, he would have known he was fighting a useless battle, but he was too far gone. Inhibitions were something he wasn't immediately aware of.

"Look at me."

The young man didn't move.

"I said, LOOK AT ME!"

Sage didn't make a sound. Severus walked up to him and fwhapped him on the back of the head. The young man lost his balance and fell forward onto one knee. He quickly, but drunkenly, got up again.

Severus grabbed his chin and pulled his gaze up to meet his. "You will look at me when I am talking to you, Sage. Now stand up."

Sage quickly pushed his uncle's hand off his face and tried to back up away from him. The professor grabbed his nephew's shirt at the collarbone with both hands and slammed him up against the wall as McGonagall and Lupin walked in. They stood at the door in shock.

"Severus," Minerva began, but Lupin stopped her with his arm before she even made a step forward.

The potion's master barely even noticed them. His fingers curled around Sage's shirt as he pressed against the young man's collarbone, driving him harder against the wall. Sage grabbed his uncle's wrists and tried to fight him off.

"Stop being foolish," Severus snarled in his face.

"Get off me!" Sage yelled back.

The man's face was ghastly white with rage. Sage's face was moist with sweat. The tension was wound to its limit.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you!"

"What the fuck do you care!" The lean youth challenged back.

Severus pulled him off the wall and took one hand off the boy's black shirt, which was now very stretched out. Sage cringed right before his uncle slapped him again. He put an arm up and tried to push the man away from him, at the same time grabbing his mouth with his other hand. One corner of his lip was bleeding. Severus grabbed the arm and pushed Sage up against the wall face first, but not hard enough to hurt him, just enough to get his attention.

"If I believed in it, I would beat you until you were rightly sorry for what you did, until you couldn't move. Don't push me. A couple of slaps would do you some good, I believe in that much."

Minerva jumped and protested at the arm Lupin held on her arm to keep her quiet. "It's not our place to interfere. He isn't doing any lasting harm and it is Severus' nephew. It is his right to discipline him as he sees fit. That goes before your being his head of house." Remus said quietly in her ear

"Why did he want us to be here then, Remus?"

Lupin shook his head, "I don't think he expected this would happen. I didn't."

Severus pushed his weight into Sage's back and held his one arm pressed painfully against his back too.

"I don't care, then bloody do it." Sage said, his voice stiffled into the wall.

He got turned around and slapped again before he knew what had happened. McGonagall jumped against Lupin's arm, apparently not used to such heavy handed tactics.

"Sage, I am your uncle and you will OBEY me."

The young man didn't answer him, but he was visibly tiring. His mind was catching up with him and he knew he was only making things worse, but he had already gone so far. His body was less numb and he became more aware of the sensation of pain.

"Look at me." Severus was tiring of giving orders that weren't being listened to. He didn't give another warning. He grabbed Sage by the hair again and made him look at him. "Now, do you understand me?" Sage didn't respond again. His last bit of fight hadn't given away yet. "Merlin, don't try me, boy, do you understand?" He spat all over Sage's face as he yelled this down at him.

It was barely perceptible but he saw his nephew blink his eyes and make an attempt at a nod. He was giving in.

"Answer me." Severus said to him, softer this time. He wasn't going to let up until he knew Sage was completely throwing in the white flag. He was going to put his nephew in his place.

"Yes," the tall boy answered softly.

Severus raised an eyebrow and shook him a little bit. "What?"

"I SAID YES!"

"Unless you want another slap across your disrespectful mouth, I would drop that tone, NOW!"

Sage directed his eyes downward and didn't answer. Severus put his hand up and backhanded him again, although not nearly as hard. It was more of a warning than anything.

"Answer me, Sage." He shook him again.

Sage looked up again with his eyes. His stomach dropped.

"Yes, yes sir, I understand you."

Severus let go of his hair and took a step back. Sage eyed him warily, rubbing his mouth and cheek, which were now bright red. Snape made sure to glare at him harshly.

After a minute or two, Severus looked up at the other two professors. He sighed.

"Lupin, Minerva, you don't need to stand there by the door."

Minerva came up and stood next to the tall man in his threatening black robes and Lupin stood off to the side a bit, apparently, not sure of why he was there. The older woman looked Sage up and down.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Snape," she asked him.

Sage took his eyes off his uncle and looked at her and then looked down. He really didn't have anything to say. He wouldn't know where to start. They wouldn't understand anyway. His attempt at shirking reality had sadly only worked for a short time. Now it was right back up in his face.

"Nothing, hmpf." She shook her head. "Never has a student dared to bring those substances into this school. Cigarettes? Bochman's Blasting Blue Raspberry Vodka? Marijuana? You were clearly not thinking. Regardless, you will explain yourself to the headmaster tomorrow morning. Until then I believe Professor Snape is perfectly capable of dealing with you himself." She walked out.

Sage looked at Lupin, who had a look of disbelief plastered on his face. The man stared at him for a minute before he chose his words.

"Whatever respect you have built up for yourself, you have managed to squash in just one night. You endangered a lot of students tonight as well as yourself. Many apologies are due. especially to your uncle. This little display," he said, "was shameful, disrespectful, and beneath you. Thankfully, I know that your uncle will remedy this."

He too stalked out. Sage looked down and held his stomach. The alcohol was catching up with him and he had just been through an ordeal nauseating in and of itself. He could feel his uncle's eyes booring a hole through the top of his head.

"Your cheek will most likely get you expelled. I hope you found it all quite worth it. I never thought you capable of such behavior, apparently I should have kept tighter rein on you," Severus said.

Sage looked up and swallowed. His drunken and drugged anger had faded and he himself was surprised at what had happened after the party - all that he had said and done. Alcohol does change your perception of consequences.

"It is a small matter that you do not see fit to explain yourself to the two of them, but you will explain yourself to me."

Sage blinked his eyes and exhaled, "There is nothing to explain, sir. I did it, it felt good, end of story."

Severus closed the gap between them again, "As I said earlier, and this is your final warning, do not take that tone with me unless you want a slap across your mouth."

Sage crossed his arms. "Fine, sir, I won't say anything then."

The man kept good to his word. Sage pursed his lips and looked up at his uncle again. His face was undoubtedly pink.

The professor raised a finger at him, calculatingly. "Do not think, boy, that I do not know something is wrong. Try as you may to hide it, I know your character. Now, you will tell me what is going on. And you will tell me now."

Sage just kept looking at him without saying anything. He knew if he started to explain, he would lose his reserve again. Everything his life was based on was being taken away from him.

"You will stand here and think about it until you do see fit to tell me." Severus scowled and seated himself behind his desk.

So Sage stood there shifting his weight back and forth in silence as his uncle worked on the papers on his desk. Bile kept rising up from his stomach. His head was pounding with pain. His body was warm and clammy.

"Sir, I think I'm going to be sick."

Severus lifted his eyes and laid a pointed glare on his nephew. His dark eyes were so cold, like they always were in the classroom. "I don't want to hear anything come out of your mouth until you explain yourself. And if you get sick in my office, I will rub your face in it."

Sage's mouth dropped open and he quickly slammed it shut. "Then I need to go to the bathroom, sir, or am I going to be sick right here."

Snape slammed his open hands on his desk as he stood up and yelled, "SILENCE! I have had enough of your mouth tonight. I said you are not moving until you explain. You are responsible for getting yourself sick and you will deal with it yourself."

His eyes were wide as he watched his uncle sit back down giving him a look of complete disgust and disappointment. Sage's stomach wrenched, he swallowed it before it came flying out of his mouth. He longed to put his head on a toilet seat and let everything out.

He stood there in front of Snape for four hours, until morning. Finally Severus stood and looked at him without blinking or shifting his gaze at all. Bleary eyed, he looked back. The only things he could think about were what he had read on those scrolls, what the prophecy had said about his life. He had never asked for any of it, and the more he thought about it the more angry, scared, and sick it made him.

Severus stalked forward and grabbed him by the arm, leading him out of his office.

"Fine, I was giving you a chance to explain yourself to me, so that maybe I would see fit to help you to not get expelled this morning. Now you will have to explain yourself to the headmaster anyway."


	29. A Revelation

Chapter 29

The Revelation

Professor Dumbledore was standing up with a tired and grave look on his face. He had been thinking about the many implications of what had happened the night before. A step in that direction by Sage, no matter how slight, spelled danger.

McGonagall and Lupin were there as well since they had been witnesses to the entire thing. They were standing in front of the headmaster's desk to the right side.

Severus let go of his nephew's arm and then crossed both of his arms across his chest. Sage did the same thing and glared downward. He felt like he was about to be attacked.

"Why did you do this?" Dumbledore finally asked him.

Sage continued staring at the ground. Why should he need to explain himself to the man who had given him that damned case in the first place.

"Why, Mr. Snape," he repeated.

He was given no answer. Severus made a move to step towards Sage, but Dumbledore put his hand up to stop him. Sage didn't see any of it. He was staring at the ground and his breathing began to speed up. He was so confused and angry and scared all in one.

"YOU WILL NOT IGNORE ME!"

Sage jumped, he had never heard the headmaster raise his voice, much less yell. It snapped something inside of him. His heart was pounding. He thought of the prophecies, he thought of that case, he thought about his fate. He took a step forward.

"Do you want to know why?" Sage said loudly. "Because I just can't take it anymore. Everything has been lies, everything! And you left me with that case to figure it all out on my own, like some sick fucking joke." He strode forward and slammed a piece of parchment down on the desk. "That's why. Because I am going to die anyway."

He faced Severus. "Because you took me and taught me and made me think that you cared about me and my safety. But it was all lies. I am just being used" He was screaming at his uncle now. "You did nothing better than try and train me for something that I didn't ask for, just like your father did to you. You said it would be so I could control and protect myself. You lied to me. Everybody lied to me. You trained me so that I could be the one to fight Him. What if I don't want to? You didn't care about that, all you knew is that I was a Magi and that if anyone could, I could. You would put me right next to Him, not try to keep me safely hidden" He looked back to Dumbledore, "Can you read that, do you know why now? DO YOU? Because I don't have a fucking choice. I am the one the prophecy talks of. Am I supposed to be happy about that, because I'm not! I can't take any of this anymore. I can't do this anymore. I did it because it made me forget for just a few hours. It gave me back my own life. And IT FELT GOOD, because nothing mattered anymore. I wasn't plagued by thoughts. I wasn't plagued by imagining my death or the fight that I should never have to be apart of. I didn't dream of things that were to come and I couldn't remember the atrocities I saw in my dreams. Do you know what else I found out in that leather case, do you? Every single Magi recorded in there other than Merlin or Ra commited suicide. And I have stopped wondering why they did now that I know the prophecy. Every one of them couldn't handle it anymore and none of them were THE ONE like I am. I don't want to do it, do you understand, I don't want to do it!"

Dumbledore looked up from the prophecies and stared at Sage who was red-faced and fuming. The boy's big, blue eyes were piercing as his black hair framed his face. The boy had rewritten the prophecies so that any man could see them, even if they could not see the original.

Severus was in shock but still looked angry. His jaw was set tightly. His hands were now in tight fists.

McGonagall's eyes were wide-open and Lupin looked like a statue frozen with its mouth dropped.

The headmaster finished reading.

Dumbledore's face was full of comprehension and empathy was mounting on it. The man's eyebrows had fallen, his lips had opened slightly, and he looked down with his eyes only partly open. His sigh gave him away if his face did not. Dumbledore knew that Sage had deciphered what Merlin had written, and the only way he could be this upset, was if he had found out that he was the One. There was little hope that he was wrong. Not with the first line of the last part of the prophecy. He looked at Severus and then to the other professors. He took a deep breath and read aloud what Sage had written down for all to see.

The One, he will be a great Magi, a Sage to rival my powers. He will be tormented his entire life. The closer he comes to the Light, the more he will be tormented by his demons and the Dark. He will stand in the Last Fight. The triad will begin with him, united by their shared blood, but he will stand alone before the fight ends. He will be expected to do, on his own, what took over one hundred wizards before him during the last reign of darkness. He will be witness to death, destruction, and grave loss and it will all touch him with the worst pain known to mankind. During the Last Fight, as one side falls, I cannot see which, he will meet his death. He will not have seen his 25th year.

If he shall rise over darkness, all those male born of his line will share his gift. As darkness falls, the Pheonix shall rise and all will be saved.

Dumbledore looked up at Sage. He could no longer be angry with the boy over what had happened. Sage was just a child and he had given him that case without the knowledge of what it contained. He had left a child alone to read his own death written by fate. He had allowed Sage to read what his destiny was, he had sentenced him to that too early. Had he known he never would have let him read it.

"I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS!" The boy yelled again suddenly waving an arm violently. "I WON'T!"

The headmaster shook his head and sighed. He looked at Sage lightly. "You must. It is your path."

"WHY MUST I? WHY?"

Dumbledore closed his eyes. He could only guess at what the boy had been subjected to since he had read the case. He could only guess at what visions or dreams he had. "You know why already, Sage, that is why you are so upset."

The boy was huffing in and out rapidly. He said, "I don't have a choice. Because whether I do this or not, people will die. People I care about will die. If I don't fight Him, He will come here and he will kill you."

Sage was staring at Dumbledore, his face quivering with emotion.

"He will kill you to get to my uncle who betrayed Him."

His voice finally began to falter. His arms and his body began to shake. He looked at Severus who was now standing absolutely still, his face showing his shock, his mouth open.

"He will kill you slowly, torturously."

He turned to McGonagall and Lupin. "And he will kill you and you as well."

His gaze flew back to the headmaster as he said part in acidity, part in fear, and part in anger, "And he will kill me or use me. If I do nothing. And even if I do fight Him, he may still kill you all." He paused to regain his breath, which had suddenly lost him. He was beginning to feel faint again, but he forced it off of him. He ignored the fact that his body was shaking in protest, that his mind was swirling against him as well.

"In the end He will kill me, even if I kill Him as well. It doesn't matter what I do, people who I care about will die, many of them. I am going to kill people. I am going to have to kill people in order to try and save others. I don't want this. I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS. I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO DESERVE THIS. MY ENTIRE LIFE HAS BEEN BURDENED AND FILLED WITH ANGUISH AND NOW I KNOW WHY. I HATE THIS, I HATE IT." Sage began to lose color and started to look a little tipsy. He began to crumple to the floor.

Severus, anticipating a vision, grabbed him, eased him down to the floor, and knelt down next to him with his hand on one shoulder. The boy was sitting there in pain with his hand against his hand. But Sage was not having a vision, he was having something he thought even worse. His whole being was completely breaking down, falling apart, rebelling against him. Before Severus knew what was happening, Sage had grabbed on to the middle of his chest, burying his head.

Sage's voice was barely audible as he said, "I can't do this. I can't. I'm not ready. I don't want this. I didn't ask for it. Make it go away. I don't want them all to die." His voice began to falter even more as he began to cry.

Severus could feel how hot his nephew's head was right through his robes. The question, 'What do I do?' flew through his mind. A knot settled in his chest. His own head was pounding with a mounting migraine. He too, began to feel like he needed to empty his stomach. Finally his mind locked on to what his body was telling him. His body knew what he was feeling, the emotion he was experiencing, but he did not know. There were many things crossing each other in his mind. He was feeling empathy, sympathy, protectiveness. For the first time in a long time, he clearly felt that he was needed and that he himself needed.

He wrapped his arms around his nephew shieldingly. He heard Sage sob, "I'm so sorry.about it all, but I can't do it anymore. I just can't take it anymore. I don't want you to die." Sage's body was shaking violently against him. He looked down at the boy's head, it's tufts of black hair were quaking too.

Severus distinctly thought he felt his heart lurch. His mind tried to grab on to what was going on. His nephew was crying, sobbing, because of what the scroll said. He frowned as his heart lurched again. Sage was upset beyond description because he did not want the people he cared about to die. His entire chest felt flattened. His nephew, whom he had just been angry at beyond his own comprehension, had just sobbed into his chest that he did not want his uncle to die.

Suddenly normally stoical Potion's Master looked up, "Do you mind? I don't think he would want everyone to see this. Give him some privacy." The other three adults nodded mechanically and Dumbledore ushered them into another room off his office.

Severus looked back down at Sage. The boy was still mumbling all sorts of things. "Gods I can't believe I'm crying. I know I shouldn't.I shouldn't betray my emotions, I'm sorry. I can't help it. This is too much."

Severus put a hand on the boy's head, in his black hair, as Sage let it all out. "Don't be sorry that you're crying. Sometimes we need to and you need to."

The tears were beginning to soak through his clothes onto his chest as Sage closed his arms harder around him, as if he was holding on for his life. His nephew probably felt as though that were the case.

"I'm so weak. I don't want to fight Him. Oh Gods, I wish it would go away. I don't want it. It's too much. I don't want you to die. I don't want to die, uncle. I don't want to die." Sage was sobbing furiously now.

Severus' own chest was pounding because of the prophecy, at the thought of what his nephew was destined to do. That his nephew was destined to die, and die young, and die during the fight with Voldemort. He could only imagine what those same thoughts were doing to the boy. He was just a boy! Dumbledore never should have given him that case. Sage should have not read those prophecies. He was too young. His mind could barely grasp what it was being told. What should he say to a boy who was sobbing that he was afraid, that he did not want his uncle to die, that he did not want to die himself?

He stroked his Sage's soft, black hair. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I'm not leaving you. Prophecies are fallible and the winds of time may change fate. Nothing is ever certain until it has happened, Sage."

Sage's body began to shake harder. His labored and furious breathing created a myriad of noises. It sounded as if he was dangerously close to hyperventilating.

"I'm, I'm so sorry I yelled at you, uncle. I'm sorry I disappointed you. I'm sorry I'm not stronger. I, I'm so sorry." The voice came from his midsection.

Severus sighed. "I understand why you did what you did. I only wish you would have told me before. I could have helped you, or tried to.I'm here now."

Sage's sobbing was still strong, but it was beginning to calm, but just slightly.

"I was just, just so angry. So angry at you. At everyone. Nobody deserved it, nobody lied to me on purpose, nobody knew. I was just, felt so, so alone, and scared, and angry."

Severus allowed his cheek to fall down onto the boy's head. His entire body felt bruised and tired. Sage had to feel even worse, worse than he had during his visions. Severus knew that emotional pains were worse than physical ones.

"The prophecy says that I was chosen as well. I was chosen to teach you, protect you, and help you. You came to me for a reason. You will not be alone."

It was a few more grueling minutes before Sage finally stopped crying and shaking. He was not letting up his hold on his uncle though. The man was his life line.

"Why does it hurt so much?" Sage said, then he sat up and looked at his uncle. "It, it hurts so much, because, because I'm so afraid."

"You will rise above it. You will learn to turn your fear into power. A Magi grows to know no fear, to know no limits. You will find your own strength. And I will help you."

* * *

Dumbledore looked through the painting onto the scene before him. The other two professors were watching as well. He sighed heavily and resituated his glasses on his nose.

"Albus, what is this prophecy," Minerva asked him, wiping the corner of the left eye.

Dumbledore's blue eyes shifted off Sage and Severus and onto the woman. He pushed his long, white hair away from his face and stroked his beard. He took in a deep, labored breath.

"Before Merlin died, he left behind a series of prophecies about a time that was to come many years after his death. About a time when the people would need his wisdom again. They were buried in time, or so that is what everyone thought. The prophecies were left in the care of Merlin's line, enveloped in case that could only be opened by a Magi. As a Magi came, the case was given to him, when he passed, the case was given back to the line of Merlin to keep until the next rose. As you have figured, it was passed on to me to hold, and I gave it to Sage. You see none of us knew what the prophecies were or what else was contained in the case. All that we knew was that the case was destined for only one of the Magi to come and that he would be born in a time where the threat of darkness was again great. I had no idea that it was Sage. I had no idea that time had come."

"But, sir, what do the prophecies say?" Lupin asked.

"They covered many things that have happened already. Of them, Harry's experience as a child, when Voldemort tried to kill him. Harry was the one in the prophecy that forced the Dark Lord down so that the One would have a chance to rise. The prophecy stated that this would mark the beginning of the formation of a triad. A triad that would fight against the Dark Lord. Sage was to be the center, the pillar of the triad. He would be linked to each of the other two by a blood relation. One would be a relation of Fawkes, the other a relation of Nag. Harry on the left.and Severus on the right. But what makes little sense is that the Magi that was to come would carry the blood of three: The Nag, Fawkes, and Merlin. The combination of power from both the light and the dark was supposed to set his power above anything the world has yet seen. But, I do not know how Sage could have the blood of Merlin."

McGonagall looked at him wide-eyed. Lupin furrowed his brow. There was only one family alive that carried Merlin's blood and Sage was not a part of it. The headmaster focused back on what was happening in his office. Severus had his hand in the boy's black hair.

"They are good for each other. Now, more than ever, they will have to learn to rely on and trust one another. Sage is going to need Severus now. He cannot handle this on his own. He was not meant to. His care fell to Severus for a reason, the prophecy speaks of it. If this is all to happen so soon, in the next ten years, he must redouble his efforts to train himself and his skills as a Magi. I fear there is still much that has not yet been revealed to us."


End file.
